Kakao Pay net loss widens in Q3 on one-off factor

This photo shows a sign that says Kakao Pay is available. Courtesy of Kakao Pay Kakao Pay, the online payment unit of Korean social media giant Kakao, said Tuesday its net loss widened in the third quarter from a year earlier due to a one-off factor sparked by massive payment delays by e-commerce platforms earlier this year. Its net loss for the July-September period reached 27.

5 billion won ($20 million), compared with a loss of 8.2 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its operating loss came to 7.



5 billion won, compared with a loss of 9.5 billion won, while sales rose 17.2 percent on-year to 186.

2 billion won. The company said its revenue increased thanks to robust performance by its securities and insurance subsidiaries, but its net loss deepened due to unexpected costs tied to the liquidity crisis in TMON and WeMakePrice. Earlier this year, the two e-commerce platforms filed for rehabilitation as it failed to deliver timely payments to their vendors due to liquidity issues.

Following the incident, Kakao Pay used 31.2 billion won to help its users who made payments on the platforms via Kakao Pay make cancellations or get refunds. (Yonhap).