K-Beauty 'Boom' Korea Kolmar Also Improved Profitability... Operating Profit Up 44% Last Year

Revenue Rose 14% to 2.452 Trillion KRW Last Year
Q4 Operating Losses in China and Canada Subsidiaries Led to Profit Decline

Kolmar Korea recorded a 44% increase in operating profit last year, driven by sales growth from domestic indie brand (small and medium-sized cosmetics) clients.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 25th, Kolmar Korea posted an operating profit of 195.5 billion KRW last year, up 44% compared to 2023. Revenue increased by 14% during the same period to 2.452 trillion KRW, and net profit surged 427% to 132.6 billion KRW, reflecting financial income and other factors.

A Kolmar Korea representative explained, "The increase in revenue is thanks to indie brand clients continuing their steady growth in the global market," adding, "The net profit growth reflects the rise in operating profit due to sales growth and improved profitability, as well as other financial gains and losses from investments."

Looking at the performance for the fourth quarter of last year, revenue reached 590.5 billion KRW, a 7% increase compared to Q4 2023. Operating profit was 36.8 billion KRW, down 1.4% during the same period. This decline in profitability is attributed to operating losses recorded by subsidiaries in China and Canada.

By business segment, the domestic division posted Q4 revenue of 241.3 billion KRW and operating profit of 18.1 billion KRW. Revenue grew 13% year-on-year due to increased direct export volumes from global brands. However, operating profit decreased by about 2% as production volumes declined for legacy skincare-focused brands with higher production costs.

The U.S. division recorded revenue of 20 billion KRW and operating profit of 1.2 billion KRW, turning profitable. This was thanks to continued strong performance from the largest client. Kolmar Korea stated, "Factory 1 alone recorded a quarterly profit of 3.3 billion KRW," explaining, "This is the result of a successfully executed sales strategy targeting global brands."

The China subsidiary posted revenue of 29.9 billion KRW and an operating loss of 1.5 billion KRW. The slowdown in the Chinese economy led to an overall decline in client operations, which dragged down performance.

The Canadian subsidiary also showed weak results. Revenue in Canada was 8.7 billion KRW, down 5% year-on-year, with an operating loss of 2.1 billion KRW. This was due to a continued decrease in orders from global clients. The container subsidiary, Yeonwoo, recorded revenue of 61.5 billion KRW and an operating loss of 1 billion KRW.

HK Innoen, a pharmaceutical subsidiary, posted revenue of 235.8 billion KRW and operating profit of 24.4 billion KRW, marking increases of 5% and 8% respectively over the same period. Balanced growth in the ethical pharmaceutical (ETC) segment drove the improved performance.

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