JTC, Audit Opinion Appropriate... "Removal from Management Stock Designation"

JTC, a specialized company operating duty-free shops in Japan, has been removed from the list of management targets with an unqualified audit opinion.

JTC, a corporation with a fiscal year ending in February, announced through its audit report disclosure on the 21st that its consolidated sales for 2023 reached 149.96522 billion KRW, a 319.0% increase compared to the previous year. Operating profit and net profit turned positive, recording 21.89712 billion KRW and 20.44994 billion KRW, respectively.

Due to the travel industry downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, JTC had consecutive losses from continuing operations before income tax for two years starting in 2021, exceeding 50% of its equity, which led to its designation as a management target in May last year. With a successful turnaround in 2023 performance, JTC has succeeded in escaping the management target designation according to KOSDAQ regulations.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, JTC took proactive measures to improve management efficiency and financial structure. It executed a third-party allotment capital increase worth 50 billion KRW targeting ‘Assenta No.5 Private Equity Investment Partnership,’ a blind fund managed by the private equity firm Apalma Capital Managers Korea (hereinafter Apalma Capital), resolving the delisting issue during the height of the pandemic in 2022.

JTC also secured financial soundness by selling its subsidiary City Plus, raising 15 billion KRW in capital. Based on this, the company aggressively opened new stores, strengthened its sales organization, and developed new PB product lineups, achieving a large-scale turnaround to profitability in 2023. The company led performance recovery mainly through tourists from Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand in 2023, and expects rapid growth in 2024 driven by the full-scale return of Chinese tourists to group tours in Japan.

CEO Koo Cheol-mo of JTC said, “The removal from the management target list is the result of company-wide efforts,” adding, “We will continue to focus on improving performance and securing financial soundness to restore corporate credibility and enhance shareholder value.” He also expressed his ambition, stating, “Since the declaration of the COVID-19 endemic, the Japanese travel industry has regained vitality, and the recovery trend is becoming clear. We will continue to expand our scale and improve profitability to achieve growth surpassing the pre-COVID era.”

JTC operates 20 duty-free shop stores in mainland Japan visited by group tourists from Korea, China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. It handles a wide range of products from food, daily necessities, cosmetics, precious metals, to electronic devices, and possesses a broad lineup of competitive PB products.