[Edaily Reporter Shin Ha-yeon ] KONA I CO.,LTD.(052400)announced on the 28th that its consolidated operating profit for the second quarter of this year was preliminarily estimated at 21.4 billion won, a 24.3% increase from the same period last year.

During the same period, revenue rose 25.1% to 84.1 billion won, and net income increased 42.5% to 22.2 billion won. For the first half of the year, cumulative revenue reached 161.0 billion won, operating profit 46.2 billion won, and net income 45.6 billion won—up 28.3%, 54.5%, and 85.5%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Given the company’s business structure, in which orders for metal cards tend to be concentrated in the second half of the year, the second quarter marks the period leading up to the peak season. The company explained that even during this period, its payment platform and new business ventures supported growth, enabling it to maintain solid performance.

Amid an expanding contribution to revenue from the payment platform business, growth in the overseas metal card business and the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service “MONA” supported the results. In particular, the company announced that the amount of high-oil-price relief funds disbursed through the regional currency platform it operates reached approximately 740 billion won, and that the average monthly transaction volume for regional currency nearly doubled following the disbursement of these funds.

The overseas metal card business expanded its business base by securing new clients in the United States. Overseas metal card revenue increased by 9.7% compared to the same period last year, and the company stated that it expects performance to improve in the second half of the year, when order volumes typically peak.

The MVNO service “MONA” surpassed 130,000 cumulative subscribers in the second quarter, and the average churn rate for the first half of the year was 3.5%, an improvement over last year’s annual churn rate of 4.3%. USIM supply volume also increased approximately 4.5 times compared to the previous quarter.

Cho Jung-il, Chairman and CEO of KONA I CO.,LTD., stated, “The overseas metal card (DID) business in the second quarter served as a period of consolidation to prepare for even higher growth,” adding, “As we are solidifying our market position based on trust with our global partners, we have high expectations for performance in the second half of the year, when order volumes typically peak.”

He continued, “Our regional community platform once again demonstrated its overwhelming competitive edge by achieving an execution rate twice the national average during the distribution of high-oil-price subsidies.” He emphasized, “Based on this confidence in our performance, we paid our first-ever quarterly dividend since the company’s founding and advanced the payment of first-half performance bonuses compared to previous years, aiming to share the fruits of our growth with both shareholders and employees.”