Netmarble's Q1 2021 sales up 7% to $512 million

South Korean mobile publisher Netmarble has announced its earnings for the first quarter of 2021.

• It generated $512 million in revenue - up 7 percent year-on-year
• $49 million in operating profit - up 166 per cent
• $56 million in net profit - up 8 per cent. 

North America accounted for 36 per cent of the revenue followed by Korea at 29 per cent, Europe at 12 per cent and Japan with 9 per cent.

Netmarble's revenue was split between a slate of successful games. 

• The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross - 15 per cent
• MARVEL Contest of Champions - 12 per cent
• Seven Knights 2 - 11 per cent

“The sales in the first quarter were relatively sluggish due to the lack of new titles following the successful launch of Seven Knights 2 in the fourth quarter of 2020. In addition, the rise in labor costs in the overall Korean game industry led to a downside in profits,” said CEO Seungwon Lee.

“As Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds and new high-fidelity titles with renowned IPs, including Marvel, Seven Knights, and BTS are planned to be launched in the second quarter and the second half, significant sales growth and profits improvement are expected,” he added.

As a majority shareholder, Netmarble was recently involved in the launch of Jam City on the New York Stock Exchange, helping to fund its acquisition via SPAC DPCM Capital.