Naver hits all-time high quarterly sales as profits climb 10%
Speaking during a conference call following Naver's second-quarter earnings release, Choi highlighted the strength of Naver Cloud in building and operating data centers, developing large language models and managing advanced graphics processing unit infrastructure.
'We see sovereign AI as a tremendous opportunity. Years of investment in AI technology are now laying the foundation for long-term growth,' Choi said.
'We are already witnessing tangible results, such as being selected as the service provider for GPU rental to support the World Best LLM Challenge in July and being chosen to lead the development of Korea's national LLM.'
The CEO further emphasized that the IT giant is actively expanding its sovereign AI business globally.
'Leveraging our domestic experience in technology and service operations, we aim to meet the AI sovereignty needs of overseas governments and institutions,' she said. 'With the reliability and stability that only Naver can provide, we plan to broaden our global footprint.'
While reiterating Naver's technological independence, Choi also expressed openness to collaboration. 'We remain open to cooperating in initiatives like the national LLM project, where a healthy ecosystem is essential,' she said.
Earlier in the day, Naver reported its second-quarter earnings, posting an operating profit of 521.6 billion won ($376.6 million) and sales of 2.92 trillion won — a record high for a single quarter.
Operating profit rose 10.3 percent on-year, while sales increased by 11.7 percent. Net profit stood at 497.4 billion won.
Market intelligence firm FnGuide had forecast operating profit of 528.1 billion won and revenue of 2.9 trillion won.
Naver attributed its robust performance to steady growth across its key business segments.
By segment, revenue totaled 1.04 trillion won from its search platform, 861.1 billion won from commerce, 411.7 billion won from fintech, 474 billion won from content and 131.7 billion won from enterprise.
Choi stressed the company's long-term vision, 'Naver will continue strengthening its platform competitiveness and business capabilities through AI, while also securing new business references to support sustainable global growth.'
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