Naver profit up 30.3 percent year-on-year due to messaging app

By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's top web portal operator Naver Corp said fourth-quarter profits climbed 30.3 percent from a year earlier, mostly in line with expectations on firm revenue growth from its messaging app unit Line Corp. Operating profit came in at 196.1 billion won ($180.70 million) for the October-December period, compared with an average estimate of 223 billion won profit from a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S survey of 24 analysts. Net revenue for Japan-based Line rose 61.9 percent to 221.7 billion won ($204.29 million), a stronger pace of growth than the previous quarter when revenue rose 57.1 percent. "This year, we will launch new services currently under preparation that will strengthen user convenience," Naver said in its press release. Investors are closely monitoring progress for Line, which has launched new offerings such as mobile payments and taxi-hailing services to capitalize on its growing user base. Naver opted not to list the subsidiary last year, saying that Line would get a better valuation if it built up the business further. Line is one of the few messaging app operators that disclose some earnings figures. While it has earned plaudits for being profitable, it lags Facebook Inc's WhatsApp and Tencent Holding Ltd's WeChat in terms of monthly active users. Line had 170 million monthly active users as of October. By comparison, WhatsApp had more than 700 million as of early January while WeChat had 468 million as of the third quarter. Naver says it has the financial capacity to help Line grow but many analysts and investors believe the messaging app unit may need to attract a major strategic investor or pursue an initial public offering to keep up with its bigger rivals. Line could list in Japan, the United States or in both markets, Naver has said. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Chris Reese and Lisa Shumaker)