Naver said its fourth-quarter operating profit rose over 30% year-on-year on the back of strong growth in key businesses, including search and e-commerce. The company became the first internet platform company to surpass 10 trillion won ($6.91 billion) in annual revenue last year.
Revenue for the three months ending December 2024 stood at 2.88 trillion won, up 13.7% from a year ago, according to the company on Feb. 7. Operating profit increased 33.7% to 542 billion won during the same period.
For the full year, the company recorded 10.73 trillion won ($7.41 billion) in revenue and 1.979 trillion in operating profit, up 11% and 32.9% from the previous year, respectively.
Adjusted EBITDA grew for the ninth consecutive quarter, rising 28.6% year-on-year and 6.7% quarter-on-quarter to 745.9 billion won. Operating profit also climbed for the eighth straight quarter, increasing 33.7% year-on-year and 3.2% quarter-on-quarter to 542 billion won. The operating margin improved by 2.8 percentage points to 18.8% compared to the previous year.
By business, Naver’s search platform saw sales grow 14.7% year-on-year to 1.0647 trillion won, driven by enhanced platform competitiveness and optimized advertising efficiency. The search platform’s annual revenue rose 9.9% to 3.9462 trillion won. The company plans to strengthen platform competitiveness by improving ad efficiency and expanding media partnerships.
Commerce revenue increased 17.4% to 775.1 billion won in the fourth quarter. Naver attributed revenue growth to the launch of the NAVER Plus Store in October, expanded membership benefits, and improved ad efficiency and profitability. The total transaction volume in the fourth quarter reached 13.2 trillion won. The commerce unit’s annual revenue rose 14.8% to 2.923 trillion won.
FinTech revenue climbed 12.6% to 409 billion won in the fourth quarter, supported by continued growth in Smart Store transactions and external payments. Payment volume in the fourth quarter surged 18.3% to 19.3 trillion won. Full-year revenue for the FinTech segment grew 11.3% to 1.5084 trillion won.
Revenue from the content unit remained relatively flat at 467.3 billion won, up just 0.2% year-on-year. The company highlighted increased paid subscribers and AI-powered webtoon services as the growth driver. Annual revenue for the content business rose 3.7% to 1.7964 trillion won.
Naver’s cloud revenue in the fourth quarter surged 41.1% year-on-year to 177.6 billion won, bolstered by growing demand for Neurocloud and Line Works, and revenue generated by Saudi Arabia’s digital twin project. Full-year revenue for the cloud unit rose 26.1% to 563.7 billion won.
Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon emphasized the company’s focus on advancing its AI-powered platform. “This year is an important time for us to fully implement our on-service AI strategy across Naver’s services,” she said in a statement. “By leveraging AI technology, we will continue to upgrade our platforms to create new value and business opportunities and ultimately strengthen our competitiveness.”
In commerce, Naver plans to expand its search-based shopping experience into a more personalized navigation by launching the new Naver Plus Store app in the first half of this year. “We aim to provide a more intuitive and seamless shopping experience for users,” Choi added.
