Messaging app Line was top-grossing non-game app in 2013

Japanese messaging app Line has said its revenue in the last quarter of 2013 jumped more than five times on the year to push its full-year sales to 34.3 billion yen, making it the top-earning non-game smartphone app last year.

The app is owned by Line Corp, a subsidiary of South Korea's Naver Corp, which may choose a foreign exchange for a widely expected IPO this year, sources say. One source valued the company at around $10 billion.

Line Corp, which also owns internet portal Livedoor and several other businesses, said its group revenue jumped 16 per cent in the October-December quarter to 15.9 billion yen, with its full-year sales clocking in at 51.8 billion yen.

Its app, which now has 340 million users and targets 500 million this year, was the top-grossing non-game app on Apple Inc's iOS store and Google Inc's Play store in 2013, ranking 6th in terms of total downloads, according to marketing research firm App Annie.

Line said that 60 per cent of the app's 12.2 billion yen revenue in the October-December quarter came from games, while around 20 per cent came from "stickers", or sets of oversized cartoon-like emoticons that users can use in chats. The rest of its sales came from sponsors and public accounts.

(Reuters)