Lotte Shopping Continues Q3 Earnings Slump... "Undergoing Structural Improvement" (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Lotte Shopping announced on the 4th that its operating profit for the third quarter of this year was 28.9 billion KRW, a 73.9% decrease compared to the same period last year. During the same period, sales decreased by 2.4% to 4.0066 trillion KRW. Cumulative sales up to the third quarter of this year fell by 3.6% to 11.7892 trillion KRW, and operating profit also decreased by 40.3% to 98.3 billion KRW.

The department store recorded sales of 656 billion KRW due to strong performance in luxury goods and men's sports, an increase of 5.9% compared to the same period last year. However, operating loss was 21 billion KRW due to the reflection of voluntary retirement costs recently implemented. The voluntary retirement program, the first in Lotte Department Store's 42-year history, saw about 500 applicants, approximately 25% of the 2,000 eligible employees.

Mart sales decreased by 8.4% to 1.481 trillion KRW. Operating profit fell by 50.5% to 12 billion KRW. Supermarket sales dropped by 16.5% to 380 billion KRW, while operating profit increased by 6.7% to 3 billion KRW. The company stated that the decrease in mart and supermarket sales was influenced by restrictions on the use of the national support fund, which started in September.

E-commerce sales operated by Lotte On decreased by 14% to 24 billion KRW, and operating loss widened to 46 billion KRW compared to 28 billion KRW in the same period last year. The company explained that this was partly due to the adjustment of online business units within Lotte Shopping in August.

Lotte Hi-Mart's third-quarter sales decreased by 0.7% to 1.04 trillion KRW. Operating profit fell by 9.0% to 51 billion KRW. Home shopping sales increased by 4.9% to 271 billion KRW, but operating profit decreased by 20.0% to 24 billion KRW.

Lotte Shopping stated, "We are improving our business structure through restructuring and building a foundation for the leap of our online business," adding, "We will continue investments to secure future competitiveness."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.