Piccoma No. 1 grossing app in Japan in September

Kakao's Japanese webtoon service Piccoma [KAKAO ENTERTAINMENT]

Piccoma, Kakao's global webtoon service, was the No. 1 grossing app in Japan in September on both Google and Apple’s app stores, according to market tracker data.ai on Friday.

This is the fourth time for the Kakao app to top the two Japanese mobile app markets, following its wins in May, June and July.

Piccoma was the No. 1 grossing app in Japan including games. Globally, it was No. 7 excluding games and No. 20 including games. It was the only app from books and related data category to make it on the top 20 list, according to Kakao Entertainment.

During the third quarter, Piccoma had over 10 million monthly active users around the world. Piccoma reported 121.5 won ($85 million) revenue during the July-to-September period, a 4 percent rise on year. Profit was not disclosed.

“Piccoma allows readers to enjoy content without the constraint of time or place,” said Kim Jae-yong, CEO of Kakao Piccoma. “We aim to develop our inventory of content and service to cater to a wider range of users and their tastes."

Kakao Piccoma launched its European branch in September 2021 and started its service in France last March. Kakao Piccoma is 75 percent owned by Kakao.

The company has reportedly delayed its plan to go public on the Tokyo Exchange to sometime next year, but a date or method of how it will go public has not been confirmed yet.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]