"Consumer Sentiment Explodes, Soars in Q1" Hyundai Department Store, Operating Profit 88.9 Billion KRW... Up 36.7% (Comprehensive)

Q1 Department Store Operating Profit 102.7 Billion Won, Up 35.2%
Strong Growth in High-Margin Categories Like Fashion and Sports
Duty-Free Sales 424.3 Billion Won, Up 97.0%, Operating Loss 14 Billion Won
"Continued Increase in Sales of Key Categories Including Imported Cosmetics"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Hyundai Department Store received a performance report for the first quarter of this year that exceeded market expectations.

On the 10th, Hyundai Department Store announced that its consolidated operating profit for the first quarter of this year was 88.9 billion KRW, a 36.7% increase compared to the same period last year. Sales during the same period rose 36.8% to 934.4 billion KRW. This figure surpasses the financial investment industry's first-quarter earnings consensus (estimates) of 856 billion KRW in sales and 78.8 billion KRW in operating profit (compiled by FnGuide). Operating profit exceeded the upper end of market estimates (85 billion KRW).

The department store division saw a significant improvement in operating profit as high-margin product categories such as fashion and sports greatly increased due to the easing of social distancing measures. The department store division's operating profit rose 35.2% year-on-year to 102.7 billion KRW. Sales also increased 9.2% year-on-year to 543.3 billion KRW. Sales were driven by a significant improvement in consumer sentiment following the peak of the COVID-19 Omicron variant spread.

The duty-free division's first-quarter sales increased 97.0% year-on-year to 424.3 billion KRW. Despite unfavorable operating conditions due to lockdown policies in China and other factors, sales grew continuously driven by key product categories such as imported cosmetics. However, due to a decline in profit margins, operating losses amounted to 14 billion KRW, an increase of 2.8 billion KRW compared to the same period last year.