E-commerce firm’s Q1 operating profit almost doubles last year’s total figure

A Kurly delivery truck (Kurly)
A Kurly delivery truck (Kurly)

Kurly has posted record quarterly earnings based on balanced growth across its businesses and improved profitability, the Korean e-commerce company said Monday.

The company reported 745.7 billion won ($506.9 million) in sales and 24.2 billion won in operating profit for the January to April period.

According to Kurly, first-quarter sales and operating profit jumped by 28.4 percent and 1,277 percent, respectively, from the same period last year. Operating profit, in particular, was 1.9 times the entire annual operating profit in 2025.

Kurly highlighted that the gross merchandise value in the January to March period reached 1.09 trillion won, up 29 percent from the first quarter last year, surpassing Korea’s online shopping growth rate of 9.7 percent during the same span.

The GMVs of Kurly’s food businesses, beauty businesses and seller delivery services increased by 27.8 percent, 20.2 percent and 52.6 percent, respectively, on the year.

Kurly noted that its midnight delivery service — launched in February with a pledge to deliver orders placed before 3 p.m. — and years of streamlining operations at its logistics centers in Gimpo, Pyeongtaek and Changwon contributed to the improved profitability.

“We have upgraded our customer experience through steady efforts from the perspective of products, logistics and technology,” said Kim Jong-hoon, chief financial officer at Kurly.

“The attempts to diversify our businesses to secure new growth engines have come to life in the first quarter this year. As we have shown our potential for growth and profit through establishing a clear business model required by a distinguished platform technology firm, we plan to accelerate our roadmap for an initial public offering.”


hwkan@heraldcorp.com