Lotte Shopping announced on the 8th that its second-quarter performance for this year is provisionally reported at sales of 3.3497 trillion won and an operating profit of 406 billion won. Compared to the same period last year, sales decreased by 2.3% and operating profit by 27.5%.
For the first half of this year, it recorded sales of 6.8065 trillion won and an operating profit of 188.9 billion won. Sales decreased by 1.9% compared to the first half of last year, but operating profit increased by 10.5%. The company noted that the management environment was challenging due to global economic uncertainties and the deepening polarization of domestic consumption, and that its store efficiency strategy aimed at enhancing revenue had some impact on the decrease in sales.
By institutional sector, department stores and overseas businesses saw consecutive increases in operating profit for two quarters this year. E-commerce and Hi-Mart also achieved results through revenue-focused management. As a result, the total operating profit for the first half increased, and net income returned to profitability.
In particular, the overseas sector experienced a 5% increase in sales and a 40.6% increase in operating profit compared to the previous year, thanks to favorable market conditions in Vietnam and Indonesia. The 'Lotte Mall Westlake Hanoi,' which opened last year, maintained its profitability for the second consecutive quarter following its first-quarter profit achievement.
The e-commerce sector experienced a slight decrease in sales due to portfolio restructuring; however, profitability improved thanks to better gross profit margins and increased advertising revenue. It maintained an upward trend since the third quarter of 2022, reducing its losses in operating profit to less than half compared to the previous year.
Hi-Mart, a subsidiary, saw increases in both sales and operating profit for two consecutive quarters despite the downturn in the domestic home appliance market.
Lotte Shopping expects to improve its performance in the second half, based on the recovery of department store sales and the success of the 'Lotte Mart Grand Grocery Guri store,' which opened at the end of June. The company plans to continue its strategies for enhancing competitiveness and profitability, including large-scale renovations of key department stores, restructuring marts to focus on groceries, expanding PB product exports, and integrating logistics for marts and supermarkets.
Kim Won-jae, head of the financial support department at Lotte Shopping, said, "While we have encountered a difficult operating environment domestically due to delays in recovery of consumer sentiment, we are continuously achieving solid results in overseas business," and added, "As we expect domestic market conditions to improve in the second half, we will do our best to achieve meaningful growth domestically as well."