Seoul, Korea, April 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
GRAVITY REPORTS FIRST QUARTER OF 2017 RESULTS AND BUSINESS UPDATES
Seoul, South Korea – April 28, 2017 – GRAVITY Co., Ltd. (NasdaqCM: GRVY) (“Gravity” or “Company”), a developer and publisher of online and mobile games based in South Korea, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017, prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.
FINAICIAL RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2017
Revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 was KRW 23,352 million (US$ 20,897 thousand), representing a 33.4% increase from KRW 17,500 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2016 (“QoQ”) and a 156.8% increase from KRW 9,094 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2016 (“YoY”).
Review of Financial Results
Revenues
Subscription revenues for the first quarter of 2017 were KRW 9,855 million (US$ 8,819 thousand), representing a 2.5% decrease QoQ from KRW 10,107 million and a 361.2% increase YoY from KRW 2,137 million. The decrease QoQ was mainly attributable to decreased revenues from Ragnarok Online in Taiwan and Korea, which was partially offset by increased revenue from Ragnarok Prequel in Taiwan. The increase YoY was largely due to increased revenues from Ragnarok Online and Ragnarok Prequel in Taiwan. We began to directly offer Ragnarok Online and Ragnarok Prequel in Taiwan since June 2016 and July 2016, respectively.
Royalty and license fee revenues for the first quarter of 2017 were KRW 4,475 million (US$ 4,005 thousand), representing a 49.9% increase QoQ from KRW 2,985 million and a 32.9% increase YoY from KRW 3,368 million. The increase QoQ was primarily due to increased revenues from Ragnarok Online in Japan and Indonesia. The increase YoY resulted mainly from increased revenues from Ragnarok Online in Japan, Thailand and Indonesia, which was partially offset by decreased revenue from Ragnarok Online in Taiwan
Mobile game and application revenues were KRW 8,063 million (US$ 7,215 thousand) for the first quarter of 2017, representing a 148.6% increase QoQ from KRW 3,243 million and a 184.9% increase YoY from KRW 2,830 million. The increase QoQ and YoY resulted primarily from increased royalty revenues from Ragnarok Online IP-based mobile games in China and increased revenues from Ragnarok R (locally titled as RO Xianjing Chuanshuo: Fuxinging) in Taiwan. Ragnarok R was launched in Taiwan on December 1, 2016.
Character merchandising and other revenues were KRW 959 million (US$ 858 thousand) for the first quarter of 2017, representing 17.7% decrease from KRW 1,165 million and a 26.5 % increase YoY from KRW 759 million.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue was KRW 13,969 million (US$ 12,500 thousand) for the first quarter of 2017, representing a 42.6% increase QoQ from KRW 9,797 million and a 111.0% increase YoY from KRW 6,619 million. The increase QoQ was mainly due to increased commission paid for mobile game service in Taiwan and Thailand, which was partially offset by decreased outsourcing fees. The increase YoY was mostly from increased commission paid related to mobile game and web game service in Taiwan and Thailand, which was partially offset by decreased salaries.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses were KRW 6,085 million (US$ 5,445 thousand) for the first quarter of 2017, representing a 5.7% increase QoQ from KRW 5,759 million and a 100.4% increase YoY from KRW 3,036 million. The increase QoQ was mainly attributable to increased advertising expenses related to pre-launch marketing for Ragnarok R , which was officially launched in Korea on April 13, 2017. Such increase was partially offset by decreased commission paid. The increase YoY was mostly resulted from increased advertising expenses for Ragnarok R and Ragnarok Online and commission paid for payment gateway fees.
Income before income tax expenses
Income before income tax expenses was KRW 3,382 million (US$ 3,027 thousand) for the first quarter of 2017 compared with income before income tax expense of KRW 2,394 million for the fourth quarter of 2016 and loss before income tax expenses of KRW 1,287 million for the first quarter of 2016.
Net Income
As a result of the foregoing factors, Gravity recorded a net income attributable to parent company of KRW 2,170 million (US$ 1,942 thousand) for the first quarter of 2017 compared with net income attributable to parent company of KRW 470 million for the fourth quarter of 2016 and a net loss attributable to parent company of KRW 1,701 million for the first quarter of 2016.
Liquidity
The balance of cash and cash equivalents and short-term financial instruments was KRW 42,196 million (US$ 37,760 thousand) as of March 31, 2017.
Note: For convenience purposes only, the KRW amounts have been expressed in U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of KRW 1,117.48 to US$ 1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on March 31, 2017 as quoted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
GRAVITY BUSINESS UPDATE
- Ragnarok R , a card RPG mobile game *1
On April 13, 2017, Ragnarok R was commercially launched in Korea. Based on mobile game sales ranking in Korea, such game was ranked fourth in both Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store, at its peak.
Ragnarok R was developed by Shanghai The Dream Network Technology Co., Ltd.(“Dream Square”) based on contents Ragnarok Online and Gravity is a publisher of such game in Taiwan, Thailand and Korea. Gravity and Dream Square plan to launch Ragnarok R in more markets.
- Other Ragnarok Online IP-based games
On March 27, 2017, Ragnarok Prequel, a web browser-based MMORPG, was launched in United States and Canada. Such game is locally named as Ragnarok Journey and currently being offered through WarpPortal, Gravity’s online game service platform. Gravity and Dream Square plan to launch Ragnarok Prequel in more markets.
Gravity is currently developing two more mobile games in-house. One of such mobile games is planned to be launched during 2017 and the other is planned to be launched during 2018.
- Ragnarok Online
Our local licensee, Electronics Extreme Ltd., plans to re-launch Ragnarok Onlin e in Philippine during third quarter of 2017. Electronics Extreme Ltd. successfully re-launched Ragnarok Online in Thailand on July 13, 2016 and Ragnarok Online won best MMORPG award in 2016 Thailand Games Show Big Festival.
*1 Descriptions about rankings of the games are based on various statistical data available from public sources and such rankings do not necessarily reflect actual profits from such games.
About GRAVITY Co., Ltd. ---------------------------------------------------
Based in Korea, Gravity is a developer and publisher of online and mobile games. Gravity's principal product, Ragnarok Online , is a popular online game in many markets, including Japan and Taiwan, and is currently commercially offered in 78 markets and countries. For more information about Gravity, please visit http://www.gravity.co.kr .
Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release may include, in addition to historical information, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe-harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe", "project," or "continue" or the negative thereof or other similar words, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Investors should consider the information contained in our submissions and filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including our annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 on Form 20-F, together with such other documents that we may submit to or file with the SEC from time to time, on Form 6-K. The forward-looking statements speak only as of this press release and we assume no duty to update them to reflect new, changing or unanticipated events or circumstances.
Contact:
Mr. Heung Gon Kim Chief Financial Officer Gravity Co., Ltd. Email: kheung@gravity.co.kr
Ms. Ji Hee Kim IR Manager Gravity Co., Ltd. Email: ircommunication@gravity.co.kr Telephone: +82-2-2132-7800
# # #
GRAVITY Co., Ltd. Consolidated Balance Sheet
(In millions of KRW and thousands of US$)
| As of | |||||||||||||
| 31-Dec-16 | 31-Mar-17 | ||||||||||||
| KRW | US$ | KRW | US$ | ||||||||||
| Assets | (audited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | |||||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 16,720 | 14,962 | 19,696 | 17,625 | |||||||||
| Short-term financial instruments | 22,000 | 19,687 | 22,500 | 20,135 | |||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 11,819 | 10,576 | 15,180 | 13,584 | |||||||||
| Other current assets | 2,852 | 2,552 | 3,139 | 2,809 | |||||||||
| Total current assets | 53,391 | 47,777 | 60,515 | 54,153 | |||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 593 | 531 | 753 | 674 | |||||||||
| Leasehold and other deposits | 962 | 861 | 947 | 847 | |||||||||
| Intangible assets | 91 | 81 | 89 | 80 | |||||||||
| Other non-current assets | 153 | 137 | 105 | 94 | |||||||||
| Total assets | 55,190 | 49,387 | 62,409 | 55,848 | |||||||||
| Liabilities and Equity | |||||||||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | 10,033 | 8,978 | 13,056 | 11,683 | |||||||||
| Deferred revenue | 9,689 | 8,670 | 10,930 | 9,781 | |||||||||
| Other current liabilities | 964 | 863 | 1,660 | 1,485 | |||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 20,686 | 18,511 | 25,646 | 22,949 | |||||||||
| Long-term deferred revenue | 4,096 | 3,665 | 3,818 | 3,417 | |||||||||
| Accrued severance benefits | 104 | 93 | 135 | 121 | |||||||||
| Other non-current liabilities | 210 | 188 | 312 | 280 | |||||||||
| Total liabilities | 25,096 | 22,457 | 29,911 | 26,767 | |||||||||
| Common shares | 3,474 | 3,109 | 3,474 | 3,109 | |||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 75,076 | 67,183 | 75,076 | 67,183 | |||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (48,511 | ) | (43,411 | ) | (46,341 | ) | (41,469 | ) | |||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | 617 | 552 | 867 | 776 | |||||||||
| Total parent company shareholders' equity | 30,656 | 27,433 | 33,076 | 29,599 | |||||||||
| Non-controlling interest | (562 | ) | (503 | ) | (578 | ) | (518 | ) | |||||
| Total equity | 30,094 | 26,930 | 32,498 | 29,081 | |||||||||
| Total liabilities and equity | 55,190 | 49,387 | 62,409 | 55,848 | |||||||||
* For convenience purposes only, the KRW amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars at the rate of KRW 1,117.48 to US$ 1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on March 31, 2017 as quoted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
GRAVITY Co., Ltd. Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In millions of KRW and thousands of US$ except for share and ADS data)
| Three months ended | |||||||||||||||||||
| 31-Dec-16 | 31-Mar-16 | 31-Mar-17 | |||||||||||||||||
| (KRW) | (US$) | (KRW) | (US$) | (KRW) | (US$) | ||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||
| Revenues: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Online games-subscription revenue | 10,107 | 9,044 | 2,137 | 1,912 | 9,855 | 8,819 | |||||||||||||
| Online games-royalties and license fees | 2,985 | 2,671 | 3,368 | 3,014 | 4,475 | 4,005 | |||||||||||||
| Mobile games and applications | 3,243 | 2,902 | 2,830 | 2,533 | 8,063 | 7,215 | |||||||||||||
| Character merchandising and other revenue (1) | 1,165 | 1,043 | 759 | 679 | 959 | 858 | |||||||||||||
| Total net revenue | 17,500 | 15,660 | 9,094 | 8,138 | 23,352 | 20,897 | |||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 9,797 | 8,767 | 6,619 | 5,923 | 13,969 | 12,500 | |||||||||||||
| Gross profit | 7,703 | 6,893 | 2,475 | 2,215 | 9,383 | 8,397 | |||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 5,125 | 4,586 | 2,688 | 2,405 | 5,516 | 4,936 | |||||||||||||
| Research and development | 634 | 567 | 343 | 307 | 569 | 509 | |||||||||||||
| Impairment losses on intangible assets | ─ | ─ | 5 | 4 | ─ | ─ | |||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 5,759 | 5,153 | 3,036 | 2,716 | 6,085 | 5,445 | |||||||||||||
| Operating income (loss) | 1,944 | 1,740 | (561 | ) | (501 | ) | 3,298 | 2,952 | |||||||||||
| Other income (expenses): | |||||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 130 | 116 | 132 | 118 | 133 | 119 | |||||||||||||
| Interest expense | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | (3 | ) | (3 | ) | |||||||||||
| Foreign currency income (loss), net | 320 | 286 | (858 | ) | (768 | ) | (46 | ) | (41 | ) | |||||||||
| Others, net | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Income(loss) before income tax expenses | 2,394 | 2,142 | (1,287 | ) | (1,151 | ) | 3,382 | 3,027 | |||||||||||
| Income tax expenses | 1,932 | 1,729 | 433 | 387 | 1,228 | 1,099 | |||||||||||||
| Net income(loss) | 462 | 413 | (1,720 | ) | (1,538 | ) | 2,154 | 1,928 | |||||||||||
| Net income (loss) attributable to: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Non-controlling interest | (8 | ) | (7 | ) | (19 | ) | (17 | ) | (16 | ) | (14 | ) | |||||||
| Parent company | 470 | 420 | (1,701 | ) | (1,521 | ) | 2,170 | 1,942 | |||||||||||
| Income(loss) per share - Basic and diluted | 67 | 0.06 | (245 | ) | (0.22 | ) | 312 | 0.28 | |||||||||||
| Weighted average number of shares outstanding - Basic and diluted | 6,948,900 | 6,948,900 | 6,948,900 | 6,948,900 | 6,948,900 | 6,948,900 | |||||||||||||
| Income(loss) per ADS (2) - Basic and diluted | 134 | 0.12 | (490 | ) | (0.44 | ) | 624 | 0.56 | |||||||||||
* For convenience, the KRW amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars at the rate of KRW 1,117.48 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on March 31, 2017 as quoted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
(1) The Company reclassified certain revenue within Character merchandising and other revenue as Mobile games and applications revenue in 2016 as this better represents the nature of the revenue, and the effect of such reclassification was reflected in each quarter of 2016. The reclassification has no effect on the Company’s previously reported total net revenue and other line items on the consolidated financial statements.
(2) Each ADS represents two common shares.
