HYBE has marked a new record by achieving 1 trillion won in sales for the first half of this year. With album sales and concert-related earnings soaring to twice that of the previous year, the entertainment giant is on track to double its year-over-year figures.
On August 8, HYBE reported a revenue of 1.0316 trillion won for the first half, with an operating profit of 133.9 billion won. This reflects an increase of 29.4% in revenue and 6.8% in operating profit compared to the same period last year. Net profit rose by 8.4% to 140.4 billion won for the first half. It's the first time HYBE's semi-annual sales have exceeded 1 trillion won since its foundation. The record-breaking performance was largely attributed to massive album sales. HYBE's label artists sold a total of 22.7 million albums in the first half, surpassing last year's entire album sales of 22.2 million.
SEVENTEEN's 10th mini-album "FML," released in April, sold 3.99 million copies on its first day alone, setting a new record in K-pop history for day-one sales. By June, the album had amassed sales of 8.87 million. Despite being in their ninth year since debut, SEVENTEEN showed a consistent increase in both their back catalog and new album sales. LE SSERAFIM's debut album "Unforgiven," released in May, achieved an initial sales volume of 1.26 million.
Heading into the latter half, NEWJEANS' second mini-album "Get Up," released last month, is receiving positive responses on charts like Billboard. On the 8th of the next month, BTS's V is set to drop his solo album "Layover," with a simultaneous global release.
The second quarter highlighted significant growth in the concert sector. Concert revenue surged by 85.4% compared to the same period last year, amidst the intensification of the pandemic. Events during this period included BTS member Suga's world tour, TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT)'s world tour, and SEVENTEEN's fan meeting. Suga sold out all 28 shows of his world tour which was launched in tandem with his solo album "D-Day." TXT held a total of 27 concerts across 15 cities.
The increase in concert revenue also drove up merchandise (MD) sales. Revenue from MD and licensing surged to 111.9 billion won in the first half, a rise of more than 10% year-over-year.
A HYBE official stated, "Last year, 4 teams held a total of 59 concerts. This year, based on the already announced schedule alone, 7 teams will conduct 111 concerts. By the end of the first half, artists like Suga, SEVENTEEN, TXT, ENHYPEN, and Leceraphim either completed their tours or have them lined up."
