CJ ENM's 2nd Quarter Sales of KRW 1.31 trillion, Operating Profit of KRW 28.6 Billion
Aug 07, 2025
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The entertainment business is recovering profitability based on improved content ratings and buzz, conversion to the FIFTH SEASON surplus, and good performance of Raphone Entertainment in Japan. The commerce business achieved solid performance on the back of continued growth in mobile live commerce transactions and enhanced fast delivery competitiveness.
This year, CJ ENM is focusing on strengthening its business competitiveness by accelerating the execution of core strategies such as ▶ Strengthening competitiveness in producing well-made contents ▶ Global acceleration ▶ Digital platform ▶ Strengthening e-commerce capabilities for sustainable growth of mobile live commerce.
A CJ ENM official said, "In the second quarter, we demonstrated unique production competitiveness through a number of well-made contents, and the global business is showing stable growth mainly in Japan and the United States."In the second half of the year, we will focus on increasing profitability through global expansion of excellent content and music-based IP ecological systems (MCSs) and securing digital platform competitiveness."
By sector, the media platform showed a series of topical works, such as 'Unknown Seoul' and 'Life of a Slough Major' that ended with its own highest ratings, but it failed to avoid the aftermath of the advertising market downturn. Sales fell 9.5% year-on-year to 319.3 billion won and operating loss was 8 billion won. On the other hand, TVing has been creating a synergy effect with Wave since the FTC approved the combination of executive vice-president in June. Recently, the number of monthly active users (MAU) and new subscribers increased by introducing Wave 'Double Use Rights', Baedal Minjok Alliance, and advertising pricing plan, and advertisement sales grew 88% from the same period last year due to KBO box office hits.
The film and drama division posted 410.5 billion won in sales, up 42.7% from last year, through the expansion of overseas premium content delivery and diversification of overseas distribution of domestic content. During the same period, operating loss was reduced to 1.2 billion won. The Fifth Season succeeded in converting the surplus by providing season-based dramas such as 'Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2' and 'Stripe Season 2' to global OTT with an operating profit of 3.2 billion won. In addition, it is analyzed that the expansion of K content distribution by utilizing omnidirectional partnerships with global OTT such as Netflix, Amazon, U-NEXT, and ABEMA contributed significantly to sales growth.
The music sector continued to grow solidly based on the success of artist record sales and concerts in Japan. On-year, sales rose 29.5 percent to 197.2 billion won and operating profit rose 248.7 percent to 17.1 billion won, respectively. In particular, Japan's Raphone Entertainment achieved its largest quarterly sales of 92.2 billion won, driving sales growth. In addition, it has maximized profitability through its own artist concerts such as 'ZEROBASEONE', which has dominated global charts since its debut, and 'INI', which recorded a single album million seller last year, and 'KCON JAPAN 2025'.
In the commerce sector, sales rose 3.7% year-on-year to 385.8 billion won and operating profit to 21.4 billion won in the second quarter thanks to the popularity of new content IP (intellectual property rights) based on video shopping and the strengthening of fast delivery competitiveness. Mobile app inflows increased due to the spread of short-form content on external channels such as YouTube and TikTok, and mobile live commerce transactions increased 47.1% in the first half of the year. In addition to new IPs such as 'Park Se-ri's Big Sister BIG Se-ri' and 'Chef's Tool Market with Austin River', the improvement of wellness-oriented product structure in response to the trend of cost-effectiveness and abnormal climate led to strong sales in various categories such as food, beauty, and travel, driving the performance. Meanwhile, marketing investments to secure content and loyal customers to preoccupy the mobile live commerce market have expanded, resulting in one-time costs.
In the second half of the year, the company plans to continue to pursue core strategies and focus on enhancing business competitiveness.
The media platform sector plans to introduce a series of dramas and entertainment contents that are expected to be watched by viewers, such as 「The Tyrant's Chef」,"Taepung Corporation," and"I Am Boxer." Teving will strengthen its synergy with Wave in earnest and improve its gains and losses through television original series content such as 'Dear X' and 'Transition Love 4' and sports content including KBO.
The movie and drama sector is planning to expand its global scope based on well-made premium contents. In the second half of the year, the Fifth Season will introduce a large number of contents to global OTT, including 'Chief of War', 'His & Her', 'The Good Daughter', and 'The Savant'. Recently, People's Season produced 'Severance' was nominated for 27 Emmy Awards, proving its unrivaled capability and presence as a global studio. Director Park Chan-wook's new work 'I can't help itDirector Yorgos Lanthimos' 'Bugonia' has entered the competition section of the Venice International Film Festival, raising expectations and interest in the movie's box office.
The music sector plans to expand its overseas business through global music content. It will discover new artists and expand its overseas business area based on MCS, including the Korea-Japan collaboration hip-hop project 「Unpretty Rapstar: Hip-pop Princess」 and the audition program 「Boyz 2 Planet」. In addition, it plans to increase its competitiveness by expanding the scale of live concerts such as global performances of its own artists 'ZEROBASEONE', 'INI', 'MIAI:I' and '2025 MAMA AWARDS'.
In addition to strengthening the IP of video shopping contents, the commerce sector plans to expand the inflow of new customers and enhance the competitiveness of e-commerce platforms through synergy with external channels such as TVing and SNS. In terms of content, it will provide an immersive shopping experience through the launch of new mobile live commerce IP in collaboration with large celebrities, and in terms of logistics, it will also upgrade its delivery infrastructure by expanding the same-day arrival service in earnest. In addition, it plans to further strengthen product differentiation and competitive advantage by significantly expanding its lineup of new and premium brands aimed at the 2025 F/W season.
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