Krafton’s latest figures show 28% decline from record first quarter 2023 | Pocket Gamer.biz

Krafton generated 387.1 billion Korean won ($294.2 million) in Q2 2023, representing an 8.6% year-on-year decline and a 28.2% fall from Q1, according to the company’s latest financial report.

Mobile continued to be a dominant force in the company’s portfolio, accounting for 244.9 billion won ($186.1 million) – 63.3% of the total. However, this represents a 12.2% year-on-year decline from 319.7 billion won ($243 million) in Q2 2022. Mobile’s share of revenue also declined from 75.5% in Q2 2022.

The company’s operating profit stood at 131.5 billion won ($100 million), at a margin of 34%. However, this represents a significant fall from 283 billion won ($215 million) and an operating profit of 53% in Q1 – a decline of 18.5%.

A return to normality?

However, it’s worth noting that Q1 represented a significant spike in operating profit for the company. Immediately prior to that period, Q4 2022 saw Krafton generate operating profit of 126.2 billion won ($96 million), at a profit of 27%. This puts the most recent result in-line with previous figures.

Adjusted EBITDA stood at 167.7 billion won ($128 million), a 47.4% decline from 319 billion won ($242.5 billion) in Q1 and a 5.4% decline from 177.4 billion won ($134.8 million) in Q2 2022, again highlighting the previous quarter as particularly strong for the company.

Krafton is operating at an adjusted EBITDA margin of 43.3%, representing a 15.9% decline from Q1 but a 1.5% increase from Q2 2022.

While Krafton’s finances settling following a spike in the previous quarter may be seen as par for the course, it’s worth noting that the company falling in line with 2022 figures could be a cause for concern, as 2022 was a particularly rocky year for the company. Notably, BattleGrounds Mobile India – a bespoke version of the hit PUBG Mobile released in the Indian Market – made a return to storefronts following an absence of almost ten months, and it appears that this failed to generate a significant uptick in revenue.

We listed Krafton as one of the top 50 mobile game makers of 2022. We’ll be unveiling our list for 2023 at our event at Gamescom on August 22.