KRX:004170

Shinsegae Swings to Quarterly Attributable Profit on Strong Department Store Performance

South Korean department store operator Shinsegae (KRX:004170) swung to an attributable profit of 90.1 billion won in the second quarter from a loss of 2.27 billion won a year earlier, the company said in bourse filings on Tuesday.Operating profit for the three months ended June 30 soared 121.8% to 167.1 billion won from 75.3 billion won last year on strong double-digit growth in operating profit across its department stores and Duty Free segments, Shinsegae said in a separate earnings presentation.The department store division saw operating profit climb 38% year over year to 109 billion won, boosted by a double-digit jump in sales across luxury, living, and fashion categories.Foreign customer sales at Shinsegae department stores climbed 149% year over year, accounting for 8.2% of overall sales.Operating profit at the company's Duty Free segment stood at 33 billion won, recovering from an operating loss of 2 billion won in the same period last year.Overall, net sales rose 5.1% to 1.78 trillion won from 1.69 trillion won as sales at its department stores climbed 15.5%, offsetting the 10.3% drop in Duty Free sales.For the first half, the company's attributable profit surged 280.5% to 210.4 billion won from 55.3 billion won a year prior, while net sales edged up 7.97% to 3.628 trillion won from 3.36 trillion won.Shinsegae's board approved a first-half dividend payout of 22.8 billion won, comprising a second-quarter dividend of 11.4 billion won, or 1,300 won per share, with a record date of Aug. 31.For the third quarter, the company said it expects continued department store sales growth on the back of inbound demand and solid VIP sales.In July alone, foreign customer sales soared 120% year over year, accounting for 8.7% of overall sales for the month.