Naver's headquarters / Yonhap

Korean internet portal giant Naver said Monday its third quarter sales topped 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion) for the first time in two years on robust growth in its content business.

The company said in a regulatory filing that its sales reached 2.05 trillion won for the July-September period, up 19.1 percent from 1.73 trillion won the previous year.

It is the first time that Naver posted more than 2 trillion won in sales since the third quarter in 2021, when the Korean company completed the business integration of its messaging firm Line in Japan with Yahoo Japan.

Its third-quarter net income slumped 28.2 percent on-year to 231.6 billion won ($163.2 million), and its operating profit declined 5.6 percent to 330.2 billion won, according to Naver.

The earnings fell behind market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 298.8 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

Naver said the stellar performance for the third quarter was led by brisk sales in content and commerce sectors.

Content sales skyrocketed 77.3 percent to 311.9 billion won over the same period due to increased global demand for its webtoons. Revenue from its webtoon business gained 18.1 percent from a year earlier.

Revenue from Naver's commerce business in the first quarter jumped 19.4 percent on-year to 458.3 billion won thanks to an expansion in its new shopping services, such as Brand Store.

The company's flagship search platform, which covers its ads business, saw its sales grow 8 percent on-year to 896.2 billion won.

Sales from the fintech sector also expanded 22.5 percent on-year to 296.2 billion won on increased online shopping through its mobile payment service Naver Pay.

Revenue from its cloud business retreated 1.5 percent on-year to 94.8 billion won. (Yonhap)