Seoul: NCSOFT Corp., a major South Korean game developer, reported a significant decline in its first-quarter net profit, marking a 34.3 percent decrease from the previous year due to sluggish game sales and the lack of new blockbuster releases.
According to Yonhap News Agency, NCSOFT's net profit for the January-March period amounted to 37.5 billion won (US$26.4 million) on a consolidated basis, compared to 57.1 billion won the previous year, as detailed in the company's regulatory filing. The operating profit also witnessed a steep decline, reaching 5.2 billion won, down 79.7 percent, while sales decreased by 9.5 percent to 360.3 billion won.
The operating profit fell short of expectations, being 50 percent lower than the average estimate gathered by a survey from Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. However, an estimate for the net profit was not available. The company's sales from major titles experienced a steady decline, with mobile and PC game sales decreasing by 4 percent and 11 percent, respectively, from the previous quarter.
Lineage M led the sales figures, generating 112.7 billion won, followed by Lineage W with 53.1 billion won. Other notable titles included Guild Wars 2 with 19.3 billion won and Blade and Soul with 14.1 billion won. Regionally, South Korea was the largest market, contributing 228.3 billion won in sales, followed by the rest of Asia at 56.1 billion won, and North America and Europe combined at 30.9 billion won.
Total operating expenses for the quarter amounted to 355.1 billion won, representing a 4.6 percent decrease from the previous year. NCSOFT has announced plans to regain growth momentum by expanding its existing intellectual property lineup, launching new titles, and publishing games utilizing external intellectual properties.