SmartFun Launches 43-Year Leadership Transition! Wang Szu-Shun as Chairman, Lee Yin-Chiang as CEO, Wang Chun-Po as President, H1 EPS NT$4.71

Taiwan's gaming veteran SmartFun (5478) has launched a new phase of management succession after 43 years of establishment. Today (12th), SmartFun held a board meeting and approved key personnel changes: Wang Szu-Shun succeeds as Chairman, Lee Yin-Chiang takes office as CEO, while long-time leader Wang Chun-Po steps down from the Chairman role and transitions to Group President, retaining his board seat. This establishes a new management structure where Wang Chun-Po continues to contribute his industry experience, Wang Szu-Shun leads mid-to-long-term strategy, and Lee Yin-Chiang oversees operational execution.

On the same day, SmartFun released its half-year financial report. Consolidated revenue reached NT$3.615 billion, up 14% year-on-year, with net profit attributable to parent company owners at NT$703 million, up 13% YoY, resulting in earnings per share (EPS) of NT$4.71.

Wang Chun-Po Steps Down as Chairman, Becomes Group President to Continue 43 Years of Industry Experience

Founded in 1983, SmartFun began as a game software distributor and has since expanded into game development and operations, digital content services, online marketing, and fintech, evolving alongside Taiwan's gaming industry for over 40 years. Wang Chun-Po's departure from the Chairman role signifies the beginning of a new generational transition in SmartFun's management.

However, Wang Chun-Po is not retiring or fully exiting management. He transitions to Group President and remains on the board, ensuring his 40+ years of accumulated industry experience stays within the group. Day-to-day operations are now handed over to Wang Szu-Shun and Lee Yin-Chiang, who will jointly lead the company under a Chairman-CEO division model, building on the existing foundation.

SmartFun stated that this management reshuffle is part of a long-term succession plan, with overall strategic direction remaining consistent. Going forward, Wang Szu-Shun will focus on the group's mid-to-long-term development and strategic planning, while Lee Yin-Chiang will manage operations and strategy execution, further strengthening resource integration and synergies across business units.

Wang Szu-Shun Leads Strategy, Lee Yin-Chiang Handles Operations – New Team Structure Takes Shape

Looking at the backgrounds of the two successors, this personnel move reflects two distinct axes: "corporate governance and strategy" and "digital technology and operations." Wang Szu-Shun has long participated in group operations and corporate governance, serving as a legal representative director and overseeing group business analysis and cross-business management. Lee Yin-Chiang, on the other hand, has deep expertise in technology and digital industries, having held roles in digital media platforms and the group's AI Center after joining SmartFun, contributing to digital services and new business development.

Wang Szu-Shun stated that SmartFun's established industry foundation, partner relationships, and comprehensive service resources built over 40+ years are crucial for continued growth. As the new Chairman, he said, "I will continue the company's core spirit of stable operations, and on this foundation, continuously promote group resource integration and long-term strategic planning," working with the management team to seize the next wave of opportunities in the digital entertainment industry.

Lee Yin-Chiang will focus on strategy execution. He stated that moving forward, he will concentrate on strategy implementation and operational efficiency improvements, strengthening collaboration and resource integration across business units, centering on customer and market needs to enhance product and service competitiveness, and further realizing the integration benefits of SmartFun's long-accumulated digital entertainment resources.

H1 Financial Results Released – Double-Digit Growth in Revenue and Profit

As the management transition completes, SmartFun also released its H1 performance. Consolidated revenue reached NT$3.615 billion, up 14% from NT$3.168 billion in the same period last year. Net profit attributable to parent company owners was NT$703 million, up 13% from NT$622 million, with EPS rising from NT$4.15 to NT$4.71.

However, Q2 alone showed a "revenue up, profit down" trend. Q2 consolidated revenue was NT$1.68 billion, down 13% quarter-on-quarter but up 7% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to parent company owners was NT$345 million, down 3% QoQ and 13% YoY, with EPS at NT$2.32, below Q1's NT$2.39 and last year's NT$2.68.

Thus, while overall operations maintained growth in H1 under the new team, sustaining revenue momentum and improving profitability will be key operational challenges post-succession.

New Team's 'Big Integration' Links Games, MyCard, and Fintech

Beyond mere personnel change, another key point of observation for SmartFun's succession is how the new team will further integrate the business portfolio that has gradually expanded over 40+ years.

Currently, SmartFun's business extends beyond traditional gaming, spanning game development and operations, MyCard digital content services, online marketing, fintech, and other digital services. The company stated that the new management team will further promote digital entertainment service integration, strengthen cross-domain collaboration among businesses, and seize opportunities in AI applications, shifts in digital content consumption, and overseas market development.

In other words, the challenge for SmartFun's next phase is not just whether individual games or services can continue growing, but how to transform long-accumulated diverse business resources into group-level integration benefits.

AI Becomes a Key Transformation Theme – Generative AI, B2B, and B2C in Parallel

AI has also become a key development theme for the new management team. SmartFun established an "AI and Digital Development Center" this year, focusing on three main pillars—generative AI, B2B, and B2C—to drive technology implementation. This includes introducing virtual hosts and automated video production workflows in the video team, and using large language models (LLM) and knowledge bases in operations to shorten file classification time, applying them to development processes and data analysis.

Notably, incoming CEO Lee Yin-Chiang previously held roles in the group's AI Center, so his operational takeover coincides with SmartFun's shift from isolated AI tool adoption to broader integration across group operations and digital services.

Looking ahead to H2, SmartFun's MyCard will continue deepening its presence in the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau markets. In gaming, Gamania's classic strategy game "Sanguo Conquest Online Remastered" launched on Steam on August 12, while the new mobile game "Goddess: Covenant of Protection" is expected to launch in H2.

In fintech, BlueX Group's BlueX Pay (NewebPay) continues advancing Passkey passwordless authentication, with nearly 100 businesses already onboarded, and has begun collaboration with SmartFun's MyCard.

With the 43-year leadership succession officially launched, the focus for SmartFun's next phase will shift from "who will succeed" to how the new management team integrates existing resources across gaming, digital content, marketing, fintech, and AI, transforming its multi-business portfolio into new growth momentum.