Gamevil First Quarter Profits Increase by 99 Percent

Korean mobile games publisher Gamevil announced that it has amassed 3.37 billion KRW ($2.97 million USD) in profits during the first quarter of 2010, owing much of its overseas success to the popularity of its titles for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The company's latest quarterly profits are a 99 percent increase from the 1.69 billion KRW earned in first quarter of 2009. Gamevil's sales are up from 4.12 billion KRW in the first quarter of 2009 to 6.30 billion KRW ($5.5 million) in the same period this year -- a 52 percent increase. Gamevil announced that this quarter's sales were led by its successful Baseball Superstars and Zenonia franchises, and notes accelerated growth in the iTunes App Store and the Android Market overseas. The company's action-RPG sequel Zenonia 2 premiered for the iPhone and iPod Touch in March, and was the App Store's biggest-selling title in the "Games" category in the week of its U.S. release. Gamevil earned a total of 11.8 billion KRW in net income last year. The company attributes its increased profits to "success of hit franchises, unit price increase, virtual goods sales, and expansion to multi-platforms." "We're proud to announce another extremely profitable quarter," said Yong Kuk Lee, Gamevil's Chief Financial Officer. "Opportunity for growth in the global market through open markets such as Apple's App Store has been a big momentum. We will continue to promptly adapt to the rising base of advanced mobile platforms and deliveries through digital distribution."