Kurly set a record for its highest quarterly results in the first quarter this year, fueled by growth in fresh food and beauty businesses and the expansion of new businesses such as seller delivery and fulfillment.
Kurly disclosed on May 11 that first-quarter 2026 revenue rose 28.4% year over year to 745.7 billion won. Operating profit for the same period jumped 1,277% to 24.2 billion won. That is 1.9 times last year's full-year operating profit. Net profit also swung to a surplus at 20.3 billion won.
Transaction volume also set a new all-time high. First-quarter gross merchandise value (GMV) was 1.0891 trillion won, up 29% from a year earlier. That is about three times faster than the 9.7% growth in domestic online shopping in the first quarter released recently by the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS).
Kurly cited steady growth in its core fresh food and beauty businesses and the diversification effect from seller delivery (3P), fulfillment service (FBK), and Kurly N Mart as the backdrop for the strong results.
First-quarter transaction volume in the food category increased 27.8% from a year earlier. Beauty Kurly also rose 20.2% on the back of robust sales of luxury beauty products and the growth of indie brands. Seller delivery transaction volume, including fulfillment services, climbed 52.6%, driving the overall improvement.
Kurly N Mart's transaction volume in March was about nine times higher than in September last year. On the 6th, Kurly carried out a third-party allotment paid-in capital increase to Naver, receiving a valuation of 2.8 trillion won. Naver plans to participate as a strategic investor and acquire all of Kurly's new shares worth 33 billion won.
Profitability improved thanks to the introduction in February of midnight Dawn Delivery and the advancement of operations at the Gimpo, Pyeongtaek, and Changwon logistics centers. Midnight Dawn Delivery allows customers who order before 3 p.m. to receive products by midnight the same day, broadening delivery time windows and boosting logistics efficiency.
Cost-efficiency gains also emerged. The first-quarter gross margin was 33.1%, up 0.8 percentage points year over year. Stronger bargaining power with partners and the expansion strategy for the 3P business had a positive effect. The SG&A ratio also fell by 2.2 percentage points, supporting profitability.
Kim Jong-hoon, Kurly's chief financial officer (CFO), said, "Through steady efforts in product, logistics, and technology, we differentiated the customer experience, and our push to diversify businesses to secure new growth engines has begun to show results from the first quarter this year." Kim added, "Having demonstrated both growth and profitability by establishing a clear business model that a differentiated technology platform company should have, we plan to make our IPO roadmap more concrete and move faster."