Naver reports more than 30% in Q1 profit surge to beat market consensus

Naver reported a more than 30 percent on-year surge in profit during the first quarter, logging 439.3 billion won ($321 million).

Naver headquarters in Bundang, Gyeonggi [NEWS1]

Naver reported a surge in profit of more than 30 percent on year during the first quarter, logging 439.3 billion won ($321 million).

The figure exceeded the market consensus of 389.5 billion won compiled by FnGuide.

Its revenue inched up by 10.8 percent, posting 2.5 trillion won during the January-March period.

The Korean IT giant attributed the higher-than-expected earnings to “even growth in its main businesses, such as the search platform and internet commerce.”

Its search portal reported a 6.3 percent on-year increase in sales, reaching 905 billion won, due to an improved advertisement business.

Its cloud division, in charge of Naver's AI business including its large language model (LLM) HyperCLOVA X, grew its sales by 25.5 percent on year in the cited quarter. The model, which launched last August, started to generate sales, the company said, adding that it completed talks with the Bank of Korea and HD Hyundai to deploy the model in their systems.

“We are focusing on finding new opportunities through the business restructuring we carried out in early April as well as on responding acutely to market trends,” said Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon.

“We will continue to focus on providing a differentiated experience to users through our core technology in AI, data and search.”

Naver, as part of its effort to develop AI technology, joined forces with Intel in April to launch a joint research lab where the Korean IT company builds software for Intel's AI processors.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]