The retail tech corporation Kurly recorded its first operating profit on a consolidated basis in the first quarter since its founding.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 13th, Kurly's consolidated revenue for the first quarter was reported to be 580.7 billion won, up 8% from the same period last year. Operating profit improved to 1.769 trillion won, achieving its first profit in 10 years. Kurly recorded a separate profit of 52.57 billion won in the first quarter of last year, but this is the first operating profit on a consolidated basis.
During the same period, the total transaction amount (GMV) recorded was 844.3 billion won, an increase of 15%. This figure is about six times higher than the online shopping growth rate based on transaction amounts of 2.6% recently disclosed by the National Statistical Office.
Regarding the achievement of its first operating profit, the company noted that stable growth in core businesses such as food and beauty, along with revenue diversification through the expansion of new businesses, was effective. The transaction amount in the food category increased by 16% year-on-year in the first quarter, and Beauty Kurly also maintained its growth trend due to strong sales of luxury, high-end, and indie brands.
Salesperson delivery products (3P), fulfillment services (FBK), and logistics agency, which are being promoted as part of business diversification, also contributed to the increase in the total transaction amount. The transaction amount for 3P in the first quarter increased by 72% compared to the same period last year. FBK expanded its share in the household and kitchen categories while increasing the number of newly entered companies, thereby growing its business scale. Kurly plans to diversify the categories of 3P and FBK in the future.
In the first quarter, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was 6.7 billion won, which is a 2.3% improvement compared to the same period last year. Cash assets during the same period amounted to 220 billion won.
A Kurly official stated, "We were able to achieve solid results through balanced growth across all institutional sectors and business diversification as we celebrated the 10th anniversary of our service opening this first quarter," and added, "From the second quarter, we plan to increase investment in marketing and customers and focus on securing growth that exceeds the market average through aggressive integrated marketing communication (IMC)."