[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s top Internet companiesKakao Corp. and Naver Corp. are expected to see their earnings improve in the second quarter of the year, according to a report on June 17.

Naver is the leading Internet portal operator while Kakao runs the nation’s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk.
 

The net profit of Naver is likely to soar 46 percent on-year to 181 billion won (US$155 million) in the April-June period, according to a report by online financial information provider Fn Guide.

Its operating profit is likely to climb 58.7 percent on-year to reach 265.2 billion won during the cited period. Revenues are also forecast to gain 25.4 percent on-year to 949 billion won and, the report said.

The report attributed the gain to the firm’s increased sales in advertisement on the mobile platform and its plan to list shares of global messaging app operator LINE Corp. under its arm.

Earlier, Naver said it will list Line’s shares in Tokyo and New York next month in what could be one of the year’s biggest initial public offerings for a technology company.

Separately, the report forecast Kakao’s net profit to increase by 40 percent on-year to 29.9 billion won in the second quarter.

Its operating profit is forecast to skyrocket by 276.8 percent on-year to 43.1 billion won as its advertisement business meets rising seasonal demand. Sales are likely to soar by 59.3 percent from a year earlier to reach 360.8 billion won and in the same period, according to the report.

Kakao suffered a decline in its first quarter bottom line mainly due to falling seasonal demand for its advertisement services.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)