Amid Dispute With Min Hee-jin, HYBE Remains Profitable In First Half Of 2024 Thanks To SEVENTEEN & ILLIT

On May 2nd, HYBE announced that it recorded sales of 360.9 billion won in the first quarter of 2024. The figure recorded a slight decrease of 12% from the same period last year. The successful debut of TWS and ILLIT has made up for the big impact of senior artists’s hiatus. Although there were relatively few new album releases in the first quarter, the steady digital streams helped the company maintain a stable performance. As a result, HYBE’s digital sales soared up to 50% in the first quarter. 

Direct participation revenue, including album sales, performances, advertisements, and performances, from SEVENTEEN, Enhypen, and &TEAM amounted to 217 billion won, accounting for 60% of the first-quarter revenue. Indirect participation sales such as MDs, content, fanclubs, etc. account for the rest of the 40%. Despite the reduced activity of existing artists, it was possible for HYBE to maintain profitability was possible due to the improvement in the foundation of profitability.

Starting from the second quarter, it is expected that both HYBE’s revenue and operating profit will improve as their artists will resume activities and world tours in earnest. In April, SEVENTEEN, TXT and BOYNEXTDOOR made their comebacks while Enhypen and NewJeans are also gearing up for their return to the K-pop race. In mid-June, Jin will be the first member of BTS to complete his military service.

With the activities of newly debuted groups, album sales are expected to increase by over 30% compared to last year. Interaction with fans will also expand as 10 groups from HYBE plan to hold a total of 160 concerts and fanmeetings.

HYBE is also doing their best to enhance the global popularity of K-pop through IP development reflecting local cultures and characteristics, especially in Japan, the US and Latin America. Their first attempt is the debut of the girl group KATEYES in the US this summer.

Source: daum