(LEAD) Kakao's Q2 net nearly quadruples on robust platform, e-commerce

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By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Thursday its third-quarter net profit jumped nearly three times from a year earlier on the back of robust growth of its e-commerce services based on its messenger platform.

Net profit reached 143.7 billion won (US$126.3 million) in the July-September period on a consolidated basis, compared with 51.1 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales jumped by 41 percent on-year to reach a quarterly high of 1.14 trillion won over the cited period, and its operating income rose 103 percent on-year to a quarterly high of 120.2 billion won over the cited period, it said.

It marks the first time for the company to exceed 1 trillion won in sales and 100 billion won in operating income.

Kakao said it enjoyed a brisk performance in both its platform and e-commerce businesses based on its KakaoTalk.

khj@yna.co.kr
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