GS Retail is up more than 9% in early trading. With news of strong first-quarter results and as the securities industry issued additional growth outlooks for this year, buying is pouring in.
As of 10 a.m. that day, GS Retail was trading at 25,850 won on the Korea Exchange, up 2,300 won (9.77%) from the previous session. It climbed to as high as 25,950 won in early trading, setting a 1-year high.
GS Retail announced the previous day that its first-quarter revenue came to 2.8549 trillion won and operating profit to 58.3 billion won. Revenue rose 3.8% from a year earlier, and operating profit increased 39.4%.
GS25, which oversees the convenience store business, led the improvement in results on the back of existing-store growth and the impact of a differentiated product strategy. In the first quarter, GS25 posted revenue of 2.0863 trillion won, up 3.7% from a year earlier, and operating profit of 21.3 billion won, up 23.8%.
Heo Jena, an analyst at DB Securities, said, "As restructuring of the convenience store business wraps up, demand is concentrating on large top-tier operators, and an annual trend of steady profit growth is expected to continue," adding, "The second quarter is also expected to maintain steady revenue growth based on a low base and holiday effects."
Meanwhile, rival BGF Retail is also up more than 6% in early trading after releasing first-quarter results the previous day.
BGF Retail reported first-quarter consolidated revenue of 2.1204 trillion won and operating profit of 38.1 billion won. Revenue rose 5.2% from a year earlier, and operating profit increased 68.6%.
Heo added, "This is the result of expanding high-quality stores in key commercial districts and reducing inefficient outlets," noting, "We confirmed qualitative improvements in revenue and profit per store."