HYBE reported record quarterly revenue. HYBE announced achieving a consolidated revenue of 640.5 billion won (approximately $465 million) in the second quarter of 2024, surpassing its previous record of 621 billion won (approx. $450 million) from last year.
In the first half of the year, the total revenue reached 1.0001 trillion won (approx. $730 million), marking the second consecutive year exceeding 1 trillion won (approx. $726 million) in the first half, following last year’s 1.0316 trillion won (approx. $750 million). This achievement is notable given BTS’s hiatus from group activities due to military service obligations.
Second-quarter revenue was driven by direct participation sales, including album and digital music sales, totaling 423.9 billion won (approx. $308 million). Album sales constituted the largest portion at 249.5 billion won (approx. $181 million), marking a 1.5% increase compared to last year. In the first half, albums released by artists under HYBE Music Group sold over 15 million copies, accounting for 34% of total album sales in South Korea. Also, the digital music sector performed exceptionally well. According to Spotify, HYBE artists dominated global K-pop streaming charts, with eight out of the top ten most-streamed songs worldwide in the first half of the year, excluding South Korea.
The success of HYBE music group artists is evident across various charts. In the first half, five songs entered the Billboard Hot 100, and a total of twelve albums charted on the Billboard 200. Moreover, three groups secured positions in the top ten for album sales in the U.S. In Japan, the world’s second-largest music market, five groups made their mark on the Oricon chart for album rankings during the same period.
The key performance indicators (KPIs) for the superfan platform Weverse have shown a notable upward trend. In the second quarter, average monthly active users (MAU) on Weverse increased by 4% compared to the previous quarter, reaching approx. 9.6 million. This growth in MAU was driven by the return of artists and an increase in the number of artists joining Weverse. The platform saw a resurgence as many fans returned to celebrate BTS member Jin’s military discharge and the BTS 2024 FESTA, collectively boosting MAU past 10 million in June.
Meanwhile, in the second quarter of 2024, HYBE recorded a consolidated operating profit of 50.9 billion won (approx. $37 million), marking a 37% decrease compared to last year. According to HYBE, the decline in operating profit was attributed to the initial costs incurred from launching various new businesses and expanding its roster of rookie artists.
HYBE reported that operating costs encompassed initial marketing expenses for the publishing game ASTRA: Knights of Veda (Dragon Blaze 2), which launched on April 2; the opening of the creator fandom platform Theus by Binary Korea in June; and the launch of the AI-based real-time voice transformation service Supertone Shift. Additionally, costs from the HYBE Latin corporation were factored in. HYBE is strategically investing in tech-based future growth businesses to ensure sustainable expansion. They anticipate planned profitability improvements in the third quarter, supported by extensive domestic and international activities scheduled for their artists.