Lotte Chilsung Beverage Daejeon Plant (Photo courtesy of Lotte Chilsung Beverage)
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co. said Monday its second-quarter net profit rose nearly 32 percent from a year earlier, driven by improved exports of key products.
Net profit came to 27.7 billion won (US$20 million) for the April-June period, up 31.6 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Operating profit for the second quarter rose 3.5 percent on-year to 62.4 billion won, while sales fell 1.1 percent to 1.08 trillion won.
The earnings fell short of market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 31.5 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.
By sector, the non-alcoholic beverage division saw its operating profit fall 33.2 percent to 23.7 billion won amid surging raw material costs, including those of orange and coffee.
Sales of soda, coffee, mineral water and sports drinks also declined due to the prolonged slump in domestic consumption.
However, energy drink sales rose 4.8 percent during the period as the company expanded its related portfolio.
Lotte added that exports of beverage products increased 6.7 percent over the period, led by soda and coffee.
The alcoholic beverage division, meanwhile, saw its operating profit drop 8.2 percent on-year in the second quarter to 2.9 billion won.
Lotte said it will make efforts to improve profitability in its global business and expand production capacity to strengthen competitiveness.
Shares of Lotte Chilsung Beverage closed at 134,800 won, up 3.45 percent from the previous session, outperforming the broader KOSPI’s 0.91 percent gain. The second-quarter report was released during the market hour.
(Yonhap)
