NCSoft closes 2020 with record earnings thanks to Lineage mobile games

South Korea’s leading mobile game publisher NCSoft Corp. posted record high earnings in 2020 as its household Lineage M mobile labels appealed stronger to homebound gamers around the world.

NCSoft disclosed Friday that its operating income came at 156.7 billion won ($139.5 million) for the fourth quarter ended December 2020, down 28.0 percent compared to the previous quarter but up 11.0 percent from a year earlier. Revenue fell 4.1 percent on quarter but gained 5.2 percent on year to 561.3 billion won. Net profit was 80.3 billion won, down 47.4 percent on quarter but up 48.6 percent on year.

Even with on-quarter falls, its earnings for full 2020 rose sharply from the previous year to all-time highs. Annual operating income jumped 72.2 percent to 824.8 billion won. Revenue soared 42.0 percent to 2.4 trillion won, breaking above the 2-trillion-won for the first time ever. Net income amounted to 586.6 billion won, up 63.3 percent on year.

NCSoft shares finished Friday 1.46 percent higher at 976,000 won, as investors stayed bullish on the game stock even before the firm’s official release of the 2020 results. Earnings report was released after market closed.

The company attributed its brisk performance to the ongoing success of its blockbuster mobile game Lineage M. The second version of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Lineage 2M, which was launched in November 2019, also delivered strong sales growth. Lineage M brought in 828.7 billion won in sales, and Lineage 2M 849.6 billion won to account for 69.4 percent of the game company’s total annual sales.

Its online PC games generated 459.2 billion won in sales last year.

By region, NCSoft earned sales of 2.0 trillion won in Korea, 94.4 billion won in North America and Europe, 54.8 billion won in Japan and 35.9 billion won in Taiwan.

Royalty income totaled 218.0 billion won for full 2020.

The game company will introduce more new games this year, including mobile MMORPGs Blade & Soul 2 and Project TL.

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