W Games said on Tuesday its second-quarter revenue on a consolidated basis rose 22.5 percent from a year earlier to 210.6 billion won, while operating profit increased 29 percent to 70.1 billion won.

The second-quarter operating margin was 33.3 percent, up 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 31.2 percent to 76.9 billion won.

Variable costs as a share of revenue fell 3.3 percentage points from a year earlier to 26.3 percent. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales accounted for 47.5 percent, expanding from a year earlier. The company said an improved cost structure due to reduced platform fees had an impact.

For the first half, revenue rose 24.5 percent from a year earlier to 415.6 billion won, while operating profit increased 27 percent to 138.5 billion won.

By segment, second-quarter revenue at Paxie Games in the casual segment rose 126.3 percent from a year earlier to 27.1 billion won. Global cumulative downloads exceeded 60 million as of the end of the first half, and revenue from new games based on artificial intelligence (AI) accounted for 81 percent.

In the iGaming segment, Supernation posted second-quarter revenue of 25.5 billion won, up 17.3 percent from a year earlier.

Revenue in the social casino segment rose 14.3 percent from a year earlier to 158.0 billion won. It reflected the performance of Wow Games, which it acquired in July last year, along with the operation of its existing flagship titles 'W Casino' and 'DoubleDown Casino'.

In the second quarter, combined revenue from the iGaming and casual segments accounted for 25 percent of total revenue.

A W Games official said, "Based on the earnings foundation of social casino, growth in casual and iGaming continues," and added, "We will continue the effects of improving the cost structure through a higher DTC share and the results of new growth drivers."