Record profits for South Korea's Kakao as founder pledges giveaway

[SEOUL] The operator of South Korea's biggest mobile messenger KakaoTalk posted coronavirus-boosted record quarterly profits Tuesday, a day after its billionaire founder pledged to give away more than half his wealth.

The pandemic has killed more than two million people worldwide and wreaked havoc on the world economy, with intensive lockdowns and travel bans imposed around the globe for several months.

But it has also seen many tech companies boom, including South Korean chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Operating profit for Kakao Corp surged 88.3 per cent year-on-year to 150 billion won (S$178.25 million) in the final three months of the year, the highest for any quarter, the company said.

Sales were up 45.7 per cent on-year at 1.24 trillion won.

The earnings announcement came a day after Kakao's founder Kim Beom-su sent a message to employees telling them: "I have pledged to donate more than half of my assets throughout my life to solve social issues."

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

The move by Mr Kim, who is worth around US$9.5 billion and among South Korea's five richest people according to Forbes, is an unusual one for the world's 12th-largest economy, where business is dominated by sprawling family-controlled conglomerates.

Kakao, founded in 2010, has a range of mobile offerings and its flagship messaging application is installed on more than 90 per cent of phones in South Korea.

Forbes described Kim as the nation's "biggest gainer" during the coronavirus pandemic, with social distancing measures driving up use of its messaging app, e-commerce platform and online games.

For the 2020 full year, the firm's sales jumped by 35.4 per cent to reach an all-time high of 4.15 trillion won, with operating income also at a record and net profits of 167 billion won.

Kakao Corp shares were up 1.2 per cent in morning trade in Seoul.

AFP