Amorepacific's Q1 net profit up 48.5 pct on overseas sales growth

SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- Amorepacific Corp., South Korea's leading cosmetics firm, said Wednesday its first-quarter net profit jumped nearly 50 percent on-year driven by aggressive growth of its overseas sales.

Amorepacific's net profit for the January-March period totaled 119 billion won (US$82.9 million) on a consolidated basis, up 48.5 percent from a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit stood at 117.7 billion won, up 62 percent on-year, while sales rose 17.1 percent to 1.06 trillion won.

The earnings beat market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 92.2 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

Amorepacific attributed its improved earnings to robust growth in overseas sales, particularly in Western markets. In the Americas, the diversification of both brand and product portfolios led to a 79 percent increase in regional sales.

Combined sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa more than tripled backed by the popularity of the company's Laneige brand amid collaborative marketing efforts and the launch of locally tailored products.

"We are focused on reinforcing each of our brand's core identities and are actively reshaping our overseas business landscape, especially in regions with high growth potential," a company official said.

Helped by the robust performance of its flagship cosmetics business, Amorepacific Holdings Corp., the holding company of the cosmetics giant, also reported improved quarterly net profit of 140 billion won, up 43.2 percent on-year.

The holding company posted 128.9 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, up from 83 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 15.7 percent to 1.16 trillion won.

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