South Korean internet giant Kakao reported a 13.2% year-on-year increase in first-quarter net profit, supported by strong growth in its platform and financial services businesses.

The company posted a net profit of 226.8 billion won (US$156.8 million) for the January to March period, according to a regulatory filing, according to Yonhap.

Operating profit jumped 66% to 211.4 billion won, while sales rose 11% to 1.94 trillion won.

Kakao said both operating profit and revenue reached record highs for a first quarter.

The group’s platform division, which includes mobility and payments services, generated 1.2 trillion won in sales, up 16% from a year earlier.

The content segment recorded a modest 5% increase to 759.4 billion won.

Separately, Kakao Pay delivered a strong performance, posting a 141.5% rise in net profit to 34.7 billion won.

Operating profit surged to 32.2 billion won from 4.4 billion won a year earlier, while revenue climbed 41.7% to 300.3 billion won, exceeding analyst expectations.

While Kakao Pay’s results contributed to the group’s financial performance, overall growth was also driven by Kakao’s broader platform ecosystem, including its core digital services.

“It is encouraging that the company made quantitative growth in the first quarter by strengthening our core competitiveness,”

Kakao’s CEO Chung Shin-a said.

She added that the company plans to build on the momentum and begin its transformation into an “agentic AI platform.”

Featured image credit: Kakao