South Korean beauty giant Amorepacific has reported a 5.7 per cent drop in sales to 963.3 billion won (US$729.5 million) for the third quarter of this year with operating profit down 12.7 per cent to $21.8 million.
However, net profit was up 29.1 per cent year on year. Sales by Amorepacific Group’s namesake cosmetic subsidiary plummeted 5.1 per cent to $672.6 million, down 7.5 per cent domestically and 3.6 per cent in overseas markets.
Travel retail sales, accounting for 23 per cent of domestic revenue, and overall online sales declined by double digits.
Revenue in Asia, with China sales accounting for about 50 per cent, dropped 13 per cent as the country continued to incur losses while other regions remained flat. Despite reporting a 35 per cent jump in sales, the American business saw operating profit decrease due to an “increase in marketing investment and post-merger integration expenses related to Tata Harper”.
Meanwhile, EMEA sales were up by 41 per cent thanks to Laneige’s performance.
During the period, Amorepacific launched two beauty brands – Hera and Aestura – in Japan. The company recently acquired the remaining 288,000 shares of Cosrx for 755.1 billion won (US$559.7 million), making the cosmetic brand its subsidiary.
