On the 7th in the afternoon, Hyundai Department Store shares are up more than 4%. With department store results improving, buying is seen as gathering on expectations for active shareholder returns.
As the share price surged, Hyundai Department Store's market capitalization on the day surpassed Emart, the flagship in distribution. According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), Hyundai Department Store's market cap is about 2.08 trillion won, overtaking Emart (about 1.97 trillion won).
As of 12:11 p.m. that day, Hyundai Department Store is trading on the main board at 92,700 won, up 4,400 won (4.98%) from the previous session. It rose to as high as 93,100 won intraday, setting a 1-year high.
Buying is seen as gathering on the back of improving third-quarter results. Hyundai Department Store posted, on a consolidation basis for the third quarter of this year (July–September), revenue of 1.0103 trillion won and operating profit of 72.6 billion won. Revenue fell 2.6% from a year earlier, but operating profit rose 12.3%. Net profit came in at 47.6 billion won, up 67.4% from a year earlier.
Bae Song-yi, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "Excluding ZINUS, the core distribution business beat expectations thanks to higher department store earnings and the duty-free unit's return to profit," and added, "In particular, the department store led results with a steep 26% year-over-year increase in earnings." Park Jong-ryeol, an analyst at Heungkuk Securities, said, "ZINUS's weak third-quarter results are also expected to normalize in the fourth quarter," adding, "Sales were temporarily delayed due to a tariff adjustment, but from October, price increases to major clients were completed."
Expectations for shareholder returns are also growing. Hyundai Department Store plans to gradually expand its annual dividends to around 50 billion won by 2027. It also plans to use half of the 40 billion won secured by selling the remaining equity stake (7.34%) in Hyundai Home Shopping to buy back treasury shares (1.3%).
In February this year, Hyundai Department Store raised its per-share dividend from 1,300 won to 1,400 won, and in September it introduced an interim dividend.