SEONGNAM: NHN Corp., a South Korean information technology and game company, announced it has experienced a net loss in the third quarter despite achieving record sales. This downturn has been attributed to a significant one-off factor involving massive payment delays by e-commerce platforms earlier this year. According to Yonhap News Agency, NHN Corp. reported a net loss of 110.3 billion won (US$78.7 million) for the July-September period, a stark contrast to the profit of 8 billion won recorded in the same quarter the previous year. The company also noted a shift to an operating loss of 113.4 billion won, moving from a profit of 23.4 billion won, even as its sales increased by 6.4 percent to reach a quarterly high of 608.4 billion won. The company attributed these financial setbacks to unexpected costs associated with the liquidity crisis faced by TMON and WeMakePrice, two e-commerce platforms that filed for rehabilitation earlier this year after failing to make timely payments to vendors. NHN Corp. rep orted that sales from its games unit rose by 2.1 percent year-on-year to 112.5 billion won. Additionally, revenue from its payment and advertisement unit increased by 10.3 percent to 292.6 billion won. The company's technology sales, which include cloud services, grew by 7.6 percent year-on-year to 102.7 billion won, while content sales saw a 1 percent rise to 50.5 billion won, and commerce sales increased by 0.5 percent to 61 billion won. Looking ahead, NHN plans to expand its global reach by launching its social casino game Pebble City and releasing eight new game titles next year, including the subculture game Abyssdia and the zombie apocalypse game Darkest Days. In an effort to enhance shareholder value, the company also announced plans to buy back 3 percent of its total shares for stock cancellation in 2025. This year, NHN has already purchased 31.1 billion won worth of its own shares and intends to acquire an additional 10 billion won starting Tuesday.