Korean mid-tier game names Com2us and Pearl Abyss log declines in Q1 income

[Source: Com2us Corp.]

South Korea’s Kosdaq-listed game publishers Com2us Corp. and Pearl Abyss Corp. posted operating profit declines in the first three months as they joined other IT and platform operators to indulge their employees amid heavy contest over software engineers and programmers.

Com2us Corp. reported 17.7 billion won ($15.7 million) in operating profit from January to March, down 32.3 percent from the previous quarter and 25.3 percent from a year ago, according to its regulatory filing on Wednesday.

Revenue declined 13.5 percent on quarter but gained 18.7 percent on year. Net figure returned to profit from a loss in the previous quarter but fell 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 29 billion won.

Com2us shares rose 4.17 percent to close at 137,500 won on Wednesday.

The company attributed the drop in operating income to increase in marketing and labor costs.

Overseas sales accounted for 78 percent or 90.9 billion won, with sales from North America and Europe soaring more than 30 percent.

“Summoners War sales grew 21 percent year over year in the first quarter and it has maintained the growth momentum in the second quarter after recording the highest-ever daily sales of 4 billion won,” the company said during a conference call. Its new title Summoners War: Lost Centuria scored more than 3 million downloads, 750,000 daily average users and 1 billion won in daily sales over the past 10 days, outperforming its predecessor Summoners War, it added.

[Source: Pearl Abyss Corp.]

Another local mid-tier game publisher Pearl Abyss saw its operating profit for the first three month fall 34.5 percent on quarter and 71.7 percent on year to 13.1 billion won, according to its disclosure on Wednesday.

Sales declined 24.2 percent from a year earlier to 100.9 billion won and net income lost 57.3 percent to 20.7 billion won.

Shares of Pearl Abyss tumbled 4.19 percent to end at 57,200 won.

The loss was partly owed to the 11 percent increase in labor costs.

Its flagship title Black Dessert generated 20 billion won in sales in just a month after its launch in North America and Europe at the end of February, but just 46 percent of it was reflected in the first-quarter income statement, the company said.

Black Dessert represented 78 percent of the firm’s overseas sales.

By platform, PC game sales contributed 53 percent, mobile 36 percent and console 11 percent.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]