Shares of LF Corp. and Handsome, grouped as distribution and fashion-related stocks, were strong together on the morning of the 28th.
As of 9:38 a.m. that day, LF Corp. was trading at 18,840 won on the Korea Exchange, up 960 won (5.37%) from the previous trading day. At the same time, Handsome shares were also at 16,120 won, up 780 won (5.08%) from the day before.
It is seen that LF Corp.'s operating profit surged in the fourth quarter last year on improved profitability in the fashion institutional sector, lifting investor sentiment across distribution and fashion-related stocks.
Earlier, LF Corp. said in a preliminary filing the day before that on a consolidation basis last year it posted sales of 1.8812 trillion won and operating profit of 169.4 billion won. Sales fell 3.8% from 2024, but operating profit rose 34.3%.
Looking only at fourth-quarter results, the improvement trend is even clearer. Fourth-quarter sales last year were 596.5 billion won, up 6.6% from a year earlier, and operating profit was 78.9 billion won, a sharp increase of 202.9%.
LF Corp. said, "Consolidation sales decreased due to the impact of a domestic consumption slowdown and a high base effect related to Koramco Trust's 2024 REITs sale," but added, "Consolidation operating profit increased thanks to strong profitability of key brands such as 'Hazzys' and improved operating expenses at Koramco Trust."