Cheil Worldwide reported preliminary third-quarter net profit of 45.6 billion won, down 29.7% from a year earlier. Consolidated operating profit fell 19.7% to 77 billion won, while sales declined 12.6% to 1.039 trillion won and gross profit dropped 6.4% to 428.1 billion won. Operating profit was equivalent to $53.9 million, and net profit missed analysts' average estimate of 52.2 billion won, according to Yonhap Infomax. The advertising agency attributed the weaker performance to marketing-budget optimization by major clients and the stronger Korean won, although North America and Latin America maintained year-on-year growth. Cheil Worldwide said non-affiliate advertisers accounted for 29% of third-quarter gross profit, up 2.2 percentage points from a year earlier, with Amazon Ads, Temasek, Carlsberg, Kakao Commerce and Subway among new clients. Digital and retail/non-traditional media advertising remained central to its direct-to-consumer strategy, representing 55% and 29% of service mix, respectively, while traditional media accounted for 16%. The company canceled all treasury shares, equivalent to 12% of issued shares, and said it plans to buy and cancel an additional 140 billion won of shares by September 2027. It also plans further shareholder returns through a 60% dividend payout ratio through next year.