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Netflix and Google’s profits in South Korea reportedly surged, and this was disclosed through their first full-year comparative disclosure to the country’s authorities. They have revealed a 52% and 33% increase in revenue and about 90% growth in operating profit.
The surge was said to have happened as streaming became the common source of entertainment for Korean households. As per Pulse News, Netflix Service Korea said late last week that its operating profit in 2021 reached 17.1 billion won or about $13.89 million, which is up by almost 95% on a year over sales of ₩631.6 billion. The gain from this increase was 52% from the previous year.
It was added that earnings from the streaming services were ₩629.5 billion last year and up by 57.9% from ₩398.8 billion in 2020. Netflix brought its streaming service to South Korea in 2016 and has gained more and more subscribers since then.
As for Google Korea, its 2021 sales rose by 32.8% on year to ₩292.3 billion. Its operating earnings soared 88.4% on year to ₩29.4 billion with net profits of 152.1% to ₩15.6 billion. For its growth in the country, the company’s corporate tax for last year had to pay ₩13.8 billion, which is up by 43.1% from the year 2020.
The Korea Herald reported that Google Korea reported ₩292 billion in sales, and its app store transaction fees are still excluded from this total. Amid the ongoing controversy with the company’s new in-app payment policy, it managed to post sales of $237 million from last year, which is up by 32.8% on year.
Based on the regulatory filing that the multinational tech company submitted to Korea’s regulatory office, its operating profit reached 29.4 billion won, which shows an increase of 88.4% on year. For Google Korea’s net income, it went up 152.1% from the previous year and reached 15.6 billion won.
Meanwhile, it was said that the excluded commissions from its Play Store app in South Korea are estimated to be worth trillions of won. Google’s conflict with the local regulator has not been resolved yet and continues as the Korean authorities think the company’s in-app payment policy violates the country’s rules. In its filing, Google Korea did not include the earnings from transactions on its app store because the Google Play server being used is located in Singapore.
