[THE INVESTOR] Kakao, the operator of Korea’s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, on Aug. 10 said its second-quarter net profit was down 5.6 percent.

Net profit reached 12.5 billion won (US$10.90 million) on a consolidated basis in the April-June period, compared with 13.2 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating income surged 67.7 percent on-year to 44.6 billion won, and sales rose 24.4 percent to 468 billion won.

Kakao said sales from its advertisement platforms moved up 11 percent on-year to reach 151.4 billion won, largely helped by the mobile segment.

Its content business also saw a 24 percent rise in revenue of 236.2 billion won on the back of a rising number of users for Melon, its music-streaming service.

The music-streaming service posted sales of 117.1 billion won, up 29 percent on-year, with its gaming content also posting sales of 78.7 billion won.

Kakao also raked in 80.8 billion won from other businesses, including products made with “Kakao Friends” characters.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)