Nexon's profits tumble on Gloops impairment

Nexon's full-year profits declined by more than 60%, largely down to impairment charges related to its acquisition of the Japanese mobile developer, Gloops Inc.

For the year ended December 31 2016, Nexon's revenue fell 4% year-on-year to ¥‎183.1 billion. Net income for that period was ¥‎20.1 billion, a far more significant decline of 63% over the previous year's results.

However, the company's financial performance was negatively affected by an impairment charge related to Gloops, the Japanese company it acquired for almost $470 million in 2012. That deal was in part due to the Korean company's strategy to gain market share in the very lucrative Japanese mobile market.

In the coming year, Nexon has a promising crop of new games, including Need for Speed Edge, Titanfall Online, and LawBreakers, the first game from Cliff Bleszinski's Boss Key Productions.