CJ ENM announced on the 8th that it recorded a consolidated revenue of 1.1383 trillion won and an operating profit of 700 million won in the first quarter of this year. Revenue decreased by 1.4% compared to the same period last year, and operating profit decreased by 94.3%.
CJ ENM explained that while the entertainment business struggled with profitability due to a contraction in the advertising market caused by widespread economic downturn, the commerce business achieved solid results thanks to increased mobile live commerce transaction volumes despite an uncertain management environment.
By institutional sector, the media platform sector reported a revenue decline of 6.8% year-on-year to 292.8 billion won and an operating loss of 5.7 billion won due to intensified contraction in the TV advertising market caused by a temporary spike in viewership of news programs. Despite fierce competition in the OTT market, the proportion of Tving's advertisement-based subscription (AVOD) expanded to 39.2%, increasing expectations for advertisement revenue growth.
The script content sector, including films and dramas, recorded a revenue of 315.9 billion won, down 13.8% year-on-year due to decreased overseas distribution revenue, along with an operating loss of 23.2 billion won. However, the delivery of the representative dramas "Chief of War" and "Nine Perfect Strangers" season 2 from global premium studio Fifth Season marked the beginning of a revenue rebound.
The music sector recorded a revenue of 167.2 billion won and an operating profit of 2.7 billion won. Thanks to the successful concert "LAPOSTA 2025" that gathered 150,000 people at Tokyo Dome featuring artists from its affiliated labels, concert revenue saw a significant increase, while the mini album 5 by "ZEROBASEONE" recorded initial sales of 1.25 million copies, contributing to revenue growth.
The commerce sector reported a revenue of 362.3 billion won in the first quarter, a 4.2% increase from the same period last year, and an operating profit of 26.2 billion won, thanks to the strengthening of video shopping content intellectual property and achievements in mobile live commerce. In particular, mobile live commerce transaction volumes surged by 92.4% year-on-year, continuing a high growth trend, and e-commerce revenue also increased by 5.4% compared to the previous year due to enhanced content commerce curation.
By securing a solid fandom for major intellectual properties such as "Choi Hwa-jung Show," "Good Life," and "Get It Beauty," over 250 new brands were launched in just the first quarter, enhancing product competitiveness, particularly in the premium beauty, fashion, and living categories. Additionally, a strategy to expand nationwide delivery to seven days a week from January has established one of the industry's fastest delivery infrastructures.
CJ ENM plans to focus on improving profitability from the second quarter by strengthening TV advertising recovery based on viewership rate enhancements and expanding Tving traffic; accelerating global sales of content and Fifth Season deliveries; enhancing overseas revenue due to the full-scale activities of global artists; and expanding content commerce curation.
A CJ ENM official noted, "The steady growth of music label revenue and live commerce transaction volumes is continuing, and several anchor IPs are dominating viewership rates and topicality in the second quarter," and added, "We will maximize platform competitiveness with well-made content and focus on recovering profitability by enhancing the capabilities of global artists."