(LEAD) NHN Q2 net profit more than doubles on core biz growth

SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) -- Second-quarter net profit at NHN Corp., a major South Korean IT and online gaming firm, surged more than 158 percent year-over-year, hitting 29.1 billion won, according to the company's disclosure. Revenue for the April-June period climbed 25.3 percent to 757.9 billion won, marking the company's highest quarterly figures to date. Operating income also skyrocketed 164.1 percent to 57.9 billion won.

The company's flagship payment business saw sales climb 27.3 percent to 394 billion won, while its technology units, encompassing AI cloud services, expanded 52.9 percent to 159.8 billion won. Game unit revenue grew 21.5 percent to 139.6 billion won, while other business lines, including travel, contracted 8.8 percent from the previous year.

NHN intends to intensify growth efforts in its core businesses during the second half of the year and lay the groundwork for a robust revenue-generating foundation. The firm plans to concentrate on creating new games, particularly for the Japanese market, while advancing payment models for stablecoins, which the company envisions as a new growth driver. Additionally, NHN intends to aggressively expand its AI infrastructure business, primarily targeting the overseas market, with plans to secure data centers in Japan.