NBT posts second-quarter profit as ad platform restructuring pays off

NBT said Wednesday it returned to profit in the second quarter as a strategic shift in its core advertising business began to yield results. The Kosdaq-listed operator of a reward-based mobile point platform reported operating income of 482 million won ($337,087) for the three months ended June 30, marking a turnaround from a loss a year earlier.

Revenue rose 18.9 percent on-year to 25.5 billion won ($17.9 million). Net income also swung to a surplus, reaching 475 million won ($332,191).

Despite the quarterly recovery, cumulative results for the first half remained in the red. Operating loss for the six-month period narrowed by 73.2 percent to 1.09 billion won ($761,592), while the net loss shrank 75.4 percent to 1.07 billion won ($745,507). Contribution margins from its core business improved by approximately 20 percent over the previous year.

Park Soo-geun, chief executive officer of NBT, attributed the rebound to early investments finally generating returns. "Proactive investments have begun to bear fruit, allowing us to enter a profitable zone in the second quarter, and we expect to achieve a full-year profit turnaround," Park said.

Management projects that network fees from its ad exchange system will accelerate margin improvements starting in the third quarter. The company currently connects more than 120 media outlets with 11 million monthly users through its offer wall network.

Growth in its commerce segment also supported the top line. Monthly users of Chips, its price comparison service, surged sixfold from the start of the year to roughly 130,000, while monthly transaction volume for its commerce affiliate business climbed about 20 percent since January to reach approximately 130 billion won ($90.9 million).