CJ ENM said on the 7th that first-quarter sales came to 1.3297 trillion won with operating profit of 1.5 billion won. Sales rose 16.8% from a year earlier. Expanded overseas sales of content and growth in subscribers and users of the online video service (OTT) "Tving" drove sales growth.
Operating profit for the same period also increased 107.2% from a year earlier. However, with the slump in the advertising market persisting and expense for investments to strengthen platform competitiveness rising, the improvement in profitability remained limited.
The entertainment institutional sector expanded overseas sales based on the competitiveness of content intellectual property (IP), and the increase in Tving subscribers and traffic contributed to improved results. The commerce business also saw improvements in mobile app inflow and customer metrics, helped by stronger content commerce and a strategy to expand external fandom IP. In particular, continued growth in mobile live commerce led to steady sales increases.
The film and drama institutional sector saw a major improvement in results thanks to the effect of producing and expanding distribution of premium content in the global market. Sales in this institutional sector rose 44.8% from a year earlier to 457.3 billion won. Operating profit turned to black at 8 billion won. In particular, by collaborating with global platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and Disney+, overseas sales of variety and music content increased, leading to improved profitability.
The media platform institutional sector, buoyed by Tving's growth, posted sales of 326.8 billion won, up 11.6% from a year earlier. However, due to weaker advertising demand amid the economic downturn, TV ad sales fell, resulting in an operating loss of 21.2 billion won.
The music institutional sector recorded sales of 167 billion won and an operating loss of 5.8 billion won. Thanks to the activities of idol groups Alphadiveone and ZEROBASEONE and the success of "Show Me the Money 12," Mnet's sales increased. In particular, sales of the fandom platform Mnet Plus grew 263.1% from a year earlier. However, fewer large-scale events by label artists such as Lapone Entertainment and expanded infrastructure investment in Mnet Plus weighed on profitability.
Sales in the commerce institutional sector were 378.5 billion won, up 4.5% from a year earlier. In contrast, operating profit fell 7.6% to 23.9 billion won. The company said this was due to strategic investment to strengthen mobile competitiveness, including expanding content commerce production and advancing AI.
A CJ ENM official said, "Tving subscribers and advertising sales grew, and overseas sales of content were also strong, achieving top-line growth in the first quarter," adding, "In the second quarter, we will focus on restoring profitability by improving the business structure and strengthening platform competitiveness."