Nexon reported its Q3 2012 results with revenue of ¥24.2 billion and operating income of ¥10 billion. While revenue was flat year-over-year, operating income declined 8%. Nexon's acquisition of gloops establishes it as the #1 independent mobile game developer by revenue and diversifies its business. For Q4 2012, Nexon revised its outlook downward to account for competitive pressures, the gloops acquisition, and plans to focus on engagement over monetization for some regions and titles. Nexon enters 2013 with a strong pipeline including new titles and updates.
3. Highlights
Quarterly revenue of ¥24.2 bn and operating income of ¥10.0 bn
– Revenues flat YoY, up 3% on constant currency basis, slightly below (-2.8%) management outlook
– Operating income down 8% YoY, above (+8.5%) management outlook; operating margins of 41%
– China continues to grow, with revenues of ¥11.4 bn (+31% YoY, +36% on constant currency basis)
– High level of competition in Korea in Q3 relative to Nexon’s release and update schedule
Transformative acquisition of gloops, Inc.
– Establishes Nexon as the #1 independent mobile game developer1 by revenue
– Immediately accretive to Nexon
– Strong growth opportunities in Japan and internationally
– Diversifies revenue base significantly
Entering 2013 with strongest pipeline to date
– Dota 2 reinforces our competitive position in Korea and Japan; expected launch mid-2013
– FIFA Online 3: positive feedback/engagement metrics collected from first closed beta
– Q4 pipeline also includes Counter-Strike Online 2, Warface, Epic of the Three Kingdoms
Revising Q4 outlook to reflect competitive environment, gloops acquisition and pipeline
1 Based on publicly available information 3
4. Summary of results1 and key operational metrics
(in ¥ millions, except per share data and metrics)
Prev. vs.
Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Outlook QoQ YoY Outlook
Revenues ¥24,156 ¥22,190 ¥30,377 ¥22,876 ¥24,256 ¥24,943 6.0% 0.4% -2.8%
Operating income 10,948 9,354 17,384 10,678 10,032 9,249 -6.0% -8.4% 8.5%
Ordinary income 10,170 8,627 17,677 9,368 9,057 9,191 -3.3% -10.9% 1.5%
Net income 7,232 5,815 12,377 6,768 6,348 6,598 -6.2% -12.2% -3.8%
Adjusted net income 2 7,582 6,153 12,738 7,148 6,791 7,007 -5.0% -10.4% -3.1%
Earnings per share 3
Basic EPS 20.39 15.59 28.82 15.63 14.63 15.30
Adjusted EPS 21.37 16.49 29.66 16.51 15.65 16.24
Customer metrics
MAU (millions) 87.3 80.0 82.8 77.4 78.8
Pay Rate 9.3% 9.9% 10.9% 10.3% 9.6%
ARPPU ¥1,486 ¥1,350 ¥1,761 ¥1,521 ¥1,729
1 Prepared in accordance with Japanese GAAP, which is rounded down to the nearest million yen.
2 Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP measure that excludes non-cash amortization of goodwill related to our acquisitions and negative goodwill in the
case of acquisitions occurring before April 1, 2010, which is required under Japanese GAAP. We provide this information to investors for the purpose of
comparing our net income with that of companies that do not amortize goodwill or negative goodwill associated with acquisitions in their financial results,
including those reporting in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
3 Adjusted to reflect the 1:100 stock split that occurred on July 21, 2011.
4
7. Revenue by region1
Q3 2012 revenue by region
Others
North 7%
America
6%
Japan
13%
Korea
China 27%
47%
(in ¥ millions)
YoY YoY
Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 As-reported Constant currency 3
China ¥8,684 ¥8,281 ¥15,175 ¥10,737 ¥11,404 31% 36%
Korea 8,521 7,224 8,856 6,251 6,578 -23% -20%
Japan 3,459 3,687 3,096 2,826 3,231 -7% -7%
North America 1,700 1,407 1,397 1,515 1,340 -21% -22%
2
Europe and others 1,791 1,590 1,850 1,545 1,701 -5% 1%
Total 24,156 22,190 30,377 22,876 24,256 0% 3%
1 Based on the region in which revenues originate.
Not a presentation of our revenues according to Nexon entities.
2 Others: United Kingdom, other Asian countries, and South American countries.
3 YoY Constant currency is the growth rate had the currency rate not changed from Q3 2011.
Rates used: 1,344 Korean won/100 Japanese yen, 12.39 Japanese yen/Chinese yuan, and 80.66 Japanese yen/U.S. dollar.
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8. China – Highlights
(Unit: ¥ millions)
Continued strength; largest portion of revenue
16,000 YoY% change
15,175 As-reported: +31%
Growth driven primarily by top 2 titles – Constant currency: +36%
Dungeon&Fighter and Counter-Strike Online – both 14,000
launching successful updates for summer and national
holidays
12,000 11,404
10,737
10,000
Upcoming pipeline: Cyphers 8,684
8,281
– Award winning action MMO gaining traction in Korea
8,000
– Alpha test: Q4 2012
– Commercial launch: 2013
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012
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9. Korea – Highlights
(Unit: ¥ millions)
As anticipated at last quarter’s update, a competitive
quarter in the region’s peak season for games 10,000
– Several blockbuster releases by global competitors YoY% change
impacted the hardcore market 9,000 8,856
As-reported: -23%
8,521
– Our key titles – MapleStory, Dungeon&Fighter, Sudden Constant currency: -20%
Attack – maintained top positions
8,000
– No major Nexon releases or updates
7,224
7,000
Nexon updates for the quarter prioritized user retention 6,578
rather than monetization 6,251
– Strengthened gameplay elements to keep players engaged 6,000
and extend game lifetimes
– Short-term impact on revenue as a result
5,000
Solid slate of new games for Q4 and 2013 4,000
– Dota 2, FIFA Online 3, Counter-Strike Online 2, Warface,
Epic of the Three Kingdoms, and others
– Mabinogi 2: first collaborative project with NCsoft 3,000
2,000
1,000
0
Epic of the Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012
Three Kingdoms
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10. Japan – Highlights
(Unit: ¥ millions)
Continue to be a market leader in PC online YoY% change
4,000
As-reported: -7%
3,687 Constant currency: -7%
Dota 2 expected to grow existing PC business
3,459
3,500
Transformative acquisition of gloops, Inc. 3,231
3,096
– Japan now 33% of worldwide revenue1
– Growth opportunities: 3,000 2,826
1) Leverage Nexon’s IP on mobile
2) Leverage Nexon’s live development expertise to extend
gloops’ games user lifetimes 2,500
3) Leverage Nexon’s international footprint to expand
gloops’ globally
2,000
Positioned to return to double digit growth
1,500
1,000
500
0
Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012
Note: Q3 2011 results include contribution from inBlue Inc.
1 Based on illustrative Q3 2012 pro forma
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11. North America/Europe and others – Highlights
YoY% change
(Unit: ¥ millions) As-reported: -21%
North America 1,800 1,700
Constant currency: -22%
1,600 1,515
Hacking and server issues under control 1,407 1,397 1,340
1,400
1,200
Focusing on customer acquisition and retention to rebuild our
userbase 1,000
800
Made changes to management team and added key live 600
operations personnel from Korea 400
200
0
Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012
(Unit: ¥ millions) YoY% change
Europe and others As-reported: -5%
2,500 Constant currency: +1%
Europe up 12% YoY on a constant currency basis 2,000 1,850
1,791
1,701
1,590 1,545
Continue to build out team in our new Luxembourg office 1,500
Focused on establishing the infrastructure needed to support 1,000
larger games in the market
500
0
Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012
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13. Summary of business outlook
(in ¥ millions)
Prev. Outlook Revised Outlook
Nexon Group (excluding gloops) gloops (standalone) Nexon Group (including gloops)3
Full year 2012 Q4 2012 Full year 2012 Q4 2012 Full year 2012 Q4 2012 Full year 2012
Revenues 104,334 21,263 ~ 24,000 98,773 ~ 101,510 6,200 ~ 6,700 6,200 ~ 6,700 27,463 ~ 30,700 104,973 ~ 108,210
Operating income 47,082 5,580 ~ 8,102 43,676 ~ 46,198 1,500 ~ 1,800 1,500 ~ 1,800 6,335 ~ 9,157 44,431 ~ 47,253
Ordinary income 46,043 5,770 ~ 8,292 41,873 ~ 44,395 1,500 ~ 1,800 1,500 ~ 1,800 6,525 ~ 9,347 42,628 ~ 45,450
Net income 32,737 3,188 ~ 5,099 28,684 ~ 30,594 900 ~ 1,080 900 ~ 1,080 3,381 ~ 5,471 28,876 ~ 30,966
Adjusted net income 1 34,294 3,597 ~ 5,507 30,275 ~ 32,185 900 ~ 1,080 900 ~ 1,080 4,441 ~ 6,531 31,119 ~ 33,210
Earnings per share 2
Basic EPS 75.88 7.34 ~ 11.74 66.31 ~ 70.72 7.78 ~ 12.59 66.75 ~ 71.59
Adjusted EPS 79.49 8.28 ~ 12.68 69.99 ~ 74.40 10.22 ~ 15.03 71.94 ~ 76.77
“Tier 2” content updates focused on supporting game community rather than bolstering near-term revenue
Lowered guidance reflects reduced expectations in North America and Europe regions for the upcoming holiday season
and focus on engagement over near-term monetization for Korea and China
Japan expected to return to double digit growth in Q4 with gloops
1Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP measure that excludes non-cash amortization of goodwill related to our acquisitions and negative goodwill in the case of acquisitions occurring
before April 1, 2010(, which is required under Japanese GAAP. We provide this information to investors for the purpose of comparing our net income with that of companies that do not
amortize goodwill or negative goodwill associated with acquisitions in their financial results, including those reporting in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
2 Adjusted to reflect the 1:100 stock split that occurred on July 21, 2011.
3 Business outlook includes amortization impacts resulting from consolidation
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15. Overview
2012 Japanese game markets size estimates1
Immediate and significant opportunities (Unit: ¥ billions)
in the Japanese mobile games market 500 425
400
– Mobile is now the largest market by revenue in Japan 300
281
– Mobile games market estimated to be ¥425 billion1 in 2012 200
80
100
-
Mobile Console PC online
Overview of gloops, Inc.
– Founded: 2005
– Located: Tokyo, Japan
– Financials for 12 months ended June 30, 20122
• Revenue: ¥23.7 billion
• Operating income: ¥5.8 billion
– Robust IP portfolio
Guardians of the Royale Three Kingdoms Guild Battle
Transaction details
– Transaction amount: JPY 36.5 billion
– Financed from cash on hand
– Transaction closed October 1, 2012
Warriors of Odin Japan Pro Baseball Card Battle
1 Sources: Nomura Equity Research (Mobile), Enterbrain, Inc. (Console).
Console revenue excludes hardware sales. 15
2 Unaudited.
16. Transformative deal driving Nexon’s mobile expansion
Strong financial contribution
– ¥36.5 billion purchase price: 5.5x EV/EBITDA1
– Immediately accretive to Nexon
Substantial opportunities for growth
1) Combine Nexon’s popular IP with gloops’ world-class mobile development
2) Leverage Nexon’s live game development expertise to extend user lifetimes of gloops’ games
3) Leverage Nexon’s substantial international footprint to expand gloops’ business globally
Transform Nexon’s base of business
– #1 independent mobile developer 2
– 20-25% of revenues now from mobile
– Japan now contributes 33% to revenues 3
1 Based on gloops’ balance sheet and financials for most recent fiscal year ended June 30, 2012
2 Based on publicly available information
3 Based on illustrative Q3 2012 pro forma
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17. Illustrative pro forma: Q3 2012
Nexon Group Q3 2012 Pro Forma1
31.1
24.2
gloops
Revenue
Financial impact
Nexon group
(Units: ¥ billion) 10.0 11.5
Operating income
Others North Others
North 7% America 5%
America 4%
6% Japan
13%
Japan
33%
Regional diversity Korea China
China 27% 37%
47% Korea
21%
Mobile
3%
Mobile
24%
Platform expansion
PC Online PC Online
76%
97%
1 For illustrative purposes only.
Based on Nexon’s Q3 2012 revenue and gloops’ unaudited quarterly revenue 17
for the 3 months ended September 30, 2012.
18. Key Titles
Three Kingdoms Guild Battle Japan Pro Baseball Card Battle
XXX
Online real-time synchronous battles among player guilds. Card battle game based on Japan’s official professional baseball
Features characters from Three Kingdoms lore. league. Over 1,200 cards available based on real life players.
Warriors of Odin Guardians of the Royale
Online real-time synchronous battles among player guilds. Evolutionary step in synchronous gameplay, with battles
Set in a fantasy world, players fight alongside Odin to defeat between guilds taking place on interactive maps adding
the dark forces of Ragnarok. freedom of movement to gameplay
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19. New and upcoming launches
New title launches
Warriors of Odin (Global Launch) MLB Winning Streak
– Released: October 2012 – Released: October 2012
– Regions: Global – Regions: Global
– Platforms: iOS, Android – Platforms: iOS, Android
– Global version of highly popular game in Japan which – Trading card battle game based on the MLB franchise
pioneered real-time battle game featuring synchronous
PvP combat between guilds
Upcoming releases
Several titles for Mobage (Japan) currently in development for launch in Q1 2013
Planning to launch 10 titles in 2013
Titles targeting overseas markets currently in development
19
21. Key upcoming titles: Dota 2 and FIFA Online 3
Regions: Korea, Japan Regions: Korea
Expected launch: mid-2013 Launch schedule
– 2nd CBT: November 27
Sequel to the pioneer of “multiplayer online battle – OBT: December
arena” games which inspired League of Legends
– Commercial launch: 2013
172,000 MCCU1 generated in North America’s OBT
Extremely positive feedback and high retention rates
from 1st CBT held in September
1 Maximum Concurrent Users 21
22. Strong pipeline
Epic of the Three Kingdoms Counter-Strike Online 2
Regions: Global Regions: Global
Launched October 25, 2012 (OBT) Expected launch (Korea): Q1 2013 (2nd CBT in November, OBT
in December)
High quality cross platform game targeting tablet, mobile, and PC
Co-developed with Valve
Sequel to one of Nexon’s top global FPS titles
Warface Mabinogi 2: ARENA
Regions: Korea Regions: Global
Expected launch: Q1 2013 (2nd CBT in November, OBT in January) Expected launch (Korea): 2013
Triple AAA military MMOFPS First collaborative project with NCsoft
Partnered with Crytek, developer of the critically acclaimed Crysis Large scale fantasy MMORPG
series
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24. Nexon overview
1.3 billion+ cumulative player registrations
60 titles+ in games portfolio
100 countries+ serviced
10 years+ of revenue growth Other
North America
Japan
Korea
China
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Note: 2001 to 2007 revenues from audit reports of NXC, Nexon’s parent company. 2008 revenues from Nexon’s unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.
Revenue breakdown by region is available from 2009.
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25. Pioneers of the Free-to-play (F2P) business model
Free-to-play (F2P): Users play games for free and use virtual currency
to purchase in-game items to enhance their playing experience
MapleStory Gameplay MapleStory In-Game Item Shop
Counter-Strike Online Gameplay Counter-Strike Online In-Game Item Shop
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26. F2P: Revenue model
MASSIVE AUDIENCE (MAU1)
Pay rate
ARPPU2
As of Q3 2012:
- MAU: 78.8 million
- Pay rate: 9.6%
Retention - ARPPU: ¥1,729
FY2011 Consolidated Revenue: ¥87.6 billion
1 Monthly Active Users 26
2 Average Revenue per Paying User
27. F2P: Revenues and development costs
F2P Online
Packaged Goods
Revenues
Revenues
Time
Packaged Goods F2P Online
Product Revenue Product Revenue
Development Cost
Development Cost
Development Generating Development Generating
Period Period Period Period
2 – 5 years 1 – 2 years 1 – 3 years Over 10 years
Development costs
Initial Costs Initial Continuous Development
Costs
Time Time
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28. Key franchises
Title Year of Launch Cumulative Gross Revenue 1
2005 $2,000,000,000+
2003 $1,500,000,000+
2004 $500,000,000+
2 2008 $400,000,000+
2004 $300,000,000+
2006 $300,000,000+
2008 $100,000,000+
1 Cumulative gross revenue over the life of each game as of March 31, 2012 includes revenue received from local publishing partners in areas where Nexon doesn’t publish
directly (e.g. China), and those generated prior to acquisition by Nexon (MapleStory in 2004, Dungeon&Fighter in 2008, Sudden Attack in 2010, and Atlantica in 2010).
2 Shared franchise jointly developed by Nexon and Valve.
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29. Growth drivers
Growth of existing titles Introduction of new IP
Epic of the Three Kingdoms
Expansion to new geographies Expansion onto new platforms
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30. Growth drivers: Growth of existing titles
“Mabinogi”: Revenue by Geographic Market
North America (2008)
Europe (2010)
China (2005)
Japan (2005)
Taiwan (2005)
Korea (2004)
( ) indicates year of launch
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
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32. Growth drivers: Expansion to new geographies
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
(Kingdom of the Winds)
Q3 2012 revenue breakdown by region
Others
North 7%
America
6%
Japan
13%
Korea
China 27%
47%
32
34. Worldwide leader in immersive F2P games
Offline Online
Single Player Multiplayer
Pay-to-play Free-to-play
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35. Disclaimer
This presentation is prepared to offer reference information about NEXON group to the investors. NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) has not verified and
would assume no responsibility for the accuracy, appropriation, or completeness thereof. This presentation does not contain all relevant information
relating to Nexon or the sale of its shares, including, without limitation, the information that would be stated under the captions “Risk Factors”,
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business” in an annual report. Any investment
decision with respect to any shares of Nexon should be made solely upon the basis of the information contained in the disclosure documents and is
qualified in its entirety by reference to the detailed information appearing in the disclosure documents.
This presentation includes forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate”,
“assume”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “forecast”, “may”, “plan”, “potential”, “predict”, “seek”, “should”, or “will”, or by other similar terminology.
These statements discuss expectations, identify strategies, contain projections of Nexon’s financial condition or results of operations or state other
forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements in this presentation are subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions about
Nexon’s business and results of operations. The expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements may not be achieved, and actual
results could differ materially from and be worse than expectations. Potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from expectations include, without limitation:
Continued growth and popularity of Nexon’s key titles;
Nexon’s ability to maintain favorable relationships with key licensing partners;
Nexon’s continued ability to offer games in China, through local partners or otherwise;
Nexon’s ability to compete effectively in the online games industry;
Nexon’s ability to address hacking, viruses, security breaches and other technical challenges;
Fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
Nexon’s ability to maintain and further develop its brand name;
Effective acquisition of new companies, businesses, technologies and games from third parties and the possibility of recognizing impairment
losses;
Continued growth of the online games market, including the underlying infrastructure, and free-to-play/item-based revenue generation model;
Nexon’s ability to adapt to new technologies;
Nexon’s ability to enter into licensing arrangements for third-party titles on terms favorable to it;
Effective defense of Nexon’s intellectual property; and
Legislative, regulatory, accounting and taxation changes in the countries in which Nexon operates.
Nexon does not intend, and disclaims any duty, to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this presentation to reflect new
information, future events or otherwise. We caution you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this presentation.
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