Suga, whose solo debut and corresponding tour contributed to seemingly solid Q2 2023 Hybe earnings. Photo Credit: Marie Claire Korea
Amid a continued concert and music festival resurgence, BTS agency Hybe generated ₩620.99 billion (currently $468.64 million) during April, May, and June of 2023 – reflecting double-digit year-over-year (YoY) and quarterly increases, per a new earnings report.
The K-pop giant posted its Q2 2023 financials today, after inking a bolstered distribution pact with Tencent Music and releasing high-profile AI projects during the three-month stretch in question.
In spite of these points and a material boost for album revenue (₩245.89 billion/$185.51 million total, up 16.6% YoY and 33.4% quarterly) throughout Q2, Hybe’s live-event segment turned in the largest income improvement by percentage, the Quality Control owner’s analysis shows.
The Pledis Entertainment parent specifically identified ₩157.51 billion ($118.13 million) in concerts revenue, up 85.4% YoY and a cool 524.3% quarterly. Commercially prominent Hybe acts including Tomorrow X Together (TXT) and BTS’ Suga performed as part of popular tours during Q2, and on a related note, some K-pop diehards have bristled over the business’s “dynamic pricing” for tickets.
Back to Hybe’s Q2 2023 showing, though, ads, appearances, and management operations, with ₩33.04 billion/$24.93 million in total quarterly revenue (up 10% YoY and 32.3% quarterly), rounded out the entity’s artist-direct operations, the report indicates.
On the artist-indirect side, the NewJeans agency said that it had brought in ₩111.91 billion/$84.83 million from merchandise and licensing (up 13.3% YoY and 62.4% quarterly), ₩50.82 billion/$38.62 million from contents (down 28.1% YoY and 41.8% quarterly), and ₩21.82 billion/$16.58 million from its WeVerse fan club (up 29.4% YoY and 9.3% quarterly).
Now equipped with on-platform payments, artist direct messaging, and more, WeVerse boasted 9.5 million monthly active users throughout Q2, per the reporting company, up from an average of 9.3 million MAUs during Q1 and six million MAUs during Q2 2022. Average revenue per paying user increased slightly YoY, Hybe disclosed.
However, the business has pushed back the rollout of a premium WeVerse tier to 2024, and in keeping with previous reports following the conclusion of the Hybe-SM Entertainment takeover showdown, 13 SM artists (including Red Velvet, EXO, and Aespa) are poised to sign up for the superfan platform, execs relayed during the Q2 earnings call.
Beyond its overall revenue jump, Hybe likewise highlighted ₩539.65 billion/$410.12 million in Q2 operating expenses (up 27.3% YoY and 50.7% quarterly). Nevertheless, net profit, at ₩117.40 billion/$89.22 million, swelled by 18.7% YoY and 409.9% quarterly, according to the resource.
For H1 2023, Hybe stated that it had moved 22.7 million K-pop albums, with especially strong showings from Seventeen (8.87 million units), Stray Kids (6.07 million units), and the aforementioned TXT (3.54 million units). On the digital-chart side, the business communicated that NewJeans had nabbed the top-three positions during 2023’s initial half.
The value of Hybe stock (KRX: 352820) dipped by about 1% during today’s trading, to an even ₩272,000 ($206.72) per share. Nevertheless, the figure still marks an over 60% hike since the year’s beginning. Looking forward to the remainder of 2023, Hybe said that its long-awaited stateside girl group (developed in collaboration with Universal Music’s Geffen) will debut in Q3.
