Internet portal Daum reports 80 pct drop in Q3 earnings

SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- Daum Communications Corp., South Korea's second-largest Internet portal, said Thursday its third-quarter earnings fell nearly 80 percent due mainly to a one-off factor and a tax penalty.

Net profit reached 4.3 billion won (US$3.3 million) in the July-September period,
down 79.5 percent from 20.8 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a
mandatory filing.
Sales climbed 8.4 percent to 67.3 billion won, and operating profit rose 4.2
percent to 10.6 billion won, it said.
The sharp bottom-line drop was attributed largely to a one-time factor. During
the same period a year earlier, the company sold a subsidiary, posting a special
income of around 6 billion won.
In August this year, the National Tax Service also slapped a 4-billion-won tax
penalty on Daum for tax evasion, the largest-ever fine imposed on a portal
operator, after a one-year probe.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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