Webtoon Entertainment Reports US$26.6 Million Operating Loss in Q1 Amid Weak Yen, Won
WEBTOON Entertainment reported an operating loss of US$26.63 million for the first quarter of 2025, marking a sharp downturn from an operating profit of US$14.19 million in the same period last year. The results were disclosed on May 13.The company also posted a net loss of US$21.97 million, with adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization) at US$4.1 million. Quarterly revenue came in at US$325.71 million, a slight 0.3% decline year-over-year. This marks the company's first year-on-year revenue drop since going public in June 2023.Despite the overall dip, WEBTOON Entertainment cited strong performance in advertising and IP adaptations, with advertising revenue up 7.8% and IP adaptations revenue up 11.8%.In North America, a recent revamp of the global WEBTOON app — featuring AI-powered recommendations and short-form video previews — boosted monthly active users by 19%.Japan remains the company's most lucrative market, accounting for 50% of first-quarter revenue according to founder and CEO Junkoo Kim. Monthly active users (MAUs) in Japan grew 3.7% year-over-year to 21.9 million. The average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) in Japan was US$22.3, significantly higher than Korea (US$7.5) and other regions (US$6.5). Naver WEBTOON's Japanese app LINE Manga ranked No.1 by revenue across all app stores in Japan for the first quarter.The company attributed much of its muted revenue growth to the weak Korean won and Japanese yen. Adjusting for currency fluctuations, first-quarter revenue would have reflected a 5.3% year-over-year increase.Sources: WEBTOON Entertainment's press release, YNA (Kyung-yoon Kim)
