Japan based Line Corpaortion, the creator of free call and messaging app for smartphones, has announced that its earnings for the quarter was JPY 21.2 billion, an increase of 17.5% over the previous quarter.
The revenue for LINE Corporation’s core business, LINE, totaled JPY 18.2 billion in the first quarter, a 25% increase over the previous quarter and a 146% increase over the same quarter in the previous year, as per press release issued by the company.
Line has seen firm growth of its users especially in Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia. In addition, LINE’s platform-based strategy has been successful in Mexico, Colombia, and other Central and South American countries, leading to even further increases in new user numbers and an overall expansion in worldwide use.
Line has witnessed huge success with its sticker business and the rapid growth of LINE Creators Market, a platform launched in April that allows users to purchase and sell stickers made by users themselves, as a new and unique platform for the smartphone age.This has resulted in over JPY 150 million in total sales from LINE Creators Market in the first month after stickers were made available for sale and purchase on May 8, as claimed by Line.
In terms of the game business, Line has also achieved considerable success. Moreover, the advertising business of Line continues to grow, enjoying increased adoption of the Official Account and Sponsored Sticker services in all countries.
LINE was launched in India in July of 2013 and grew by 5 million users in three weeks. A TV ad campaign advertising free calls, India-exclusive stickers, and partnerships with popular Indian movies are just a number of the various ways that LINE has strengthened its ties to India. Currently LINE is claimed to have more than 18 million registered users in India and its growth in India surpasses any other country worldwide.
Commenting on its achivement, LINE Corporation CEO Akira Morikawa, said,” Since the beginning of 2014, globally active Asian companies have increased their presence in the messaging service market. Amid such fierce competition, LINE, as a global corporation, has continued to grow firmly not only in terms of user base but on the revenue side as well, and was even selected as the Global Growth Company of 2014 at the World Economic Forum. LINE will continue its efforts to surpass the bounds of a messaging service in order to become an infrastructure for communications, and aims to become the leading force in the global market as a mobile platform”.
