Studio Dragon third-quarter operating profit rises 44.4 percent on content lineup

Studio Dragon said Thursday its third-quarter operating profit rose 44.4 percent from a year earlier to 15.1 billion won ($11.3 million), as the drama producer widened sales and improved production efficiency.

Revenue for the quarter reached 159 billion won ($119 million), up 16.5 percent from 137 billion won a year earlier. Net income was 4.53 billion won ($3.38 million), and pre-tax profit from continuing operations came to 7.08 billion won ($5.28 million).

"In the second quarter, we reinforced our growth trajectory even amid a difficult environment, based on advanced business strategies such as production efficiency, content diversification and the strong performance of major titles," Chief Financial Officer Lee Hye-mi said.

Drama sales, covering domestic and overseas distribution and production, accounted for 77 percent of revenue. Broadcasting-slot sales made up 21 percent, with the remaining 1.8 percent coming from sponsorships, soundtracks and merchandise.

Looking ahead, Studio Dragon said it will lean on a lineup of big-budget titles and expanded pre-sales to keep its core business growing in the second half. It named "Pophands," "A Hundred Days' Lie" and "Slowly and Intensely" among the anticipated works it expects to broaden its viewing reach.

Lee said the company will respond to shifts in the external environment by expanding its intellectual property business and streamlining production costs. "We will strengthen both the profit base of our core business and the foundation for mid- to long-term growth," she said.