Hyundai Department Store 2008 net up 19.3 pct

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Department Store Co., South Korea's
third-largest department store by sales, said Thursday its net profit rose 19.3
percent in 2008 from a year earlier thanks to gains on equity investments.
Net income stood at 222.3 billion won (US$160.9 million) last year, compared with
186.3 billion won the previous year, Hyundai Department Store said in a
regulatory filing.
Sales rose 1.8 percent annually to 805 billion won and operating profit added 5
percent to 169.7 billion won.
The company said fourth-quarter net profit soared 30.4 percent to 55.5 billion
won from a year ago. Sales, however, fell 1.2 percent on-year to 215 billion won
in the October-December period and operating profit tumbled 21 percent to 33.2
billion won.
Shares of Hyundai Department Store finished 1.73 percent down at 62,600 won on
the main bourse.
"Robust annual earnings stemmed from strong earnings in the third quarter of last
year and increased profits from equity investments. However, we saw a sharp fall
in fourth quarter operating profit due to increased one-off expenses," a company
official said.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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