Here’s how much each company made in the first quarter of this year vs last year.
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K-Pop’s “Big 4” companies (HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment) have revealed their revenue and profits for the first quarter of 2021. Last year, many K-Pop companies, including the Big 4, suffered losses due to the 2020 pandemic, but they are finding ways to adapt and profit in the “new normal”. Here’s how the Big 4’s first-quarter profits for this year compare to last year.
4. YG Entertainment
Earlier this month, The Korea Exchange announced that both YG Entertainment and SM Entertainment had been demoted from blue-chip companies to regular mid-sized businesses due to profit losses and poor performance. YG Entertainment had been a blue-chip company for eight years, and SM Entertainment had been one for thirteen years.
In 2020’s first quarter, YG Entertainment recorded ₩52,800,000,000 KRW ($4,6457,611 USD) in gross sales. The company’s net revenue was a loss of ₩ -2,100,000,000 KRW ($1,847,745 USD) largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Out of the Big 4, YG Entertainment had the lowest net income in 2021’s first quarter: ₩8.65 billion KRW (about $7.68 million USD). The company recorded ₩9.53 billion KRW (about $8.46 million USD) for their operating profit after generating ₩97.0 billion KRW (about $86.1 million USD) in revenue between January and March.
3. SM Entertainment
2020 was one of SM Entertainment’s worst fiscal years, resulting in a net loss of ₩80.3 billion won (about $71.4 million USD). Like YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment’s profit loss was largely attributed to the ongoing pandemic. Their gross sales for 2020 were ₩144,700,000,000 KRW (about $127,318,491 USD), and their net revenue was ₩1,700,000,000 KRW (about $1,495,794 USD).
In the first quarter of 2021, SM Entertainment’s reported income was ₩8.67 billion KRW (about $7.70 million USD). Their operating profit was ₩15.3 billion KRW (about $13.6 million USD) after generating ₩154 billion KRW (about $137 million USD) in revenue between the months of January and March.
2. JYP Entertainment
In 2020, JYP Entertainment saw gross sales of ₩33,900,000,000 KRW ($29,827,898 USD), and a net revenue of ₩13,400,000,000 KRW (about $11,790,378 USD).
In the first quarter of 2021, the company was second only to HYBE in profits. It recorded a net profit of ₩12.0 billion KRW (about $10.7 million USD), and an operating profit of ₩13.7 billion KRW (about $12.2 million USD) after generating ₩32.3 billion KRW (about $28.7 million USD) between January and March.
1. HYBE
In the first quarter of 2020, HYBE (the Big Hit Entertainment) brought in the highest gross revenue and net revenue: ₩155,800,000,000 KRW ($137,085,148 USD), and ₩23,200,000,000 KRW ($20,413,192 USD), respectively.
HYBE continues to hold onto the title of top earner in the first quarter of 2021. HYBE’s net revenue for 2021’s first quarter was ₩15.8 billion KRW (about $14.0 million USD). It recorded an operating profit of ₩21.7 billion KRW (about $19.3 million USD) after generating ₩178 billion KRW (about $158 million USD) in revenue between January and March.
