By Kwanwoo Jun
Naver Corp.'s fourth-quarter net profit fell 59% from a year earlier on sluggish advertising sales growth and increased labor and operating costs.
Net profit for the quarter ended in December was 122.60 billion won ($100.1 million) compared with net profit of KRW299.80 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, the South Korean internet platform giant said Friday.
That missed a FactSet-compiled consensus forecast for net profit of KRW288.25 billion.
Revenue rose 18% from a year earlier to KRW2.272 trillion, while operating profit fell 4.2% to KRW336.50 billion.
For the full year of 2022, revenue rose 21% to KRW8.220 trillion while operating profit fell 1.6% to KRW1.305 trillion. Net profit slumped 96% to KRW664.00 billion.
Despite steady revenue growth, the company said it suffered from weaker growth at its advertising segment as advertisers reduced their spending amid fears of a recession. Online display ads fell 2.9% on year in the quarter while search-platform ads managed to grow marginally during the period.
Increased operating and labor costs, including year-end employee bonuses and stock incentives, also weighed on earningsj, the company added.
Naver has recently completed acquiring U.S. online-fashion reseller Poshmark Inc. for more than $1 billion to expand its global e-commerce business.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-02-23 1911ET