[Edaily Reporter Kim Kyung-eun ] On the 6th, EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES announced that it had raised its annual guidance for APR(278470)and adjusted its target price upward by approximately 4% from 510,000 won to 530,000 won. The firm maintained its “Buy” rating.

Lee Hae-ni, an analyst at EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, stated in a report released that day, “The annual guidance has been raised to 3 trillion won in revenue and an operating profit margin of 24–26%.”

APR announced the previous day that its consolidated revenue for the second quarter of this year was 767.5 billion won and operating profit was 190.6 billion won, representing year-over-year increases of 134.2% and 134.5%, respectively. Both revenue and operating profit marked all-time quarterly highs and were in line with market consensus.

First-half results also set a new all-time record. On a consolidated basis, revenue for the first half of this year reached 1.3609 trillion won, a 129.2% increase year-over-year. Having achieved results in the first half alone that nearly match last year’s full-year revenue (1.5273 trillion won), the company is now well on track to surpass 3 trillion won in annual revenue. Operating profit for the first half of this year was 342.8 billion won, a 150.4% increase compared to the previous year (136.9 billion won).

This growth was driven by the company’s overseas operations. Overseas revenue reached 704.2 billion won, a 177.6% increase from the previous year, accounting for approximately 92% of total revenue. Growth in the North American market was particularly notable, with revenue there reaching 376.3 billion won—a 265% increase year-over-year. The company explained that this was due to Medicube ranking first in the Amazon Prime Day beauty category for two consecutive quarters (Q1 and Q2), as well as its expanding presence in brick-and-mortar retail chains such as Ulta, Target, and Walmart. However, analysis shows that online sales still account for the overwhelming majority of total sales.

Europe has established itself as a new growth driver. European revenue reached 145.1 billion won, a 380% increase from the previous year. As the benefits of entering online channels in five key European countries began to take full effect, the ratio of online to offline sales expanded to roughly 50:50. During Amazon Prime Day, an average of more than seven products from each of these five countries ranked in the top 100 bestsellers.

Sales in Asia rose 15% to 121.1 billion won, while sales in other regions surged 325% to 61.7 billion won. Analysts attribute this to increased business-to-business (B2B) sales driven by expanded brand awareness, as well as new demand from the Middle East and Latin America.

However, the improvement in profitability was limited due to rising costs. Although there was a tariff refund benefit of approximately 13 billion won in the U.S., the move to bring Amazon Prime Day forward from the third quarter to the second quarter led to an increase in air freight costs to secure inventory. In Europe as well, logistics costs rose by approximately 10 billion won as some sea freight was shifted to air freight due to geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Costs associated with the Coachella event and marketing campaigns featuring mega-influencers were also factored in.

EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES projected that the growth momentum would continue into the third quarter. The firm forecast third-quarter revenue of 774.4 billion won and operating profit of 188.0 billion won, representing year-over-year increases of 100.6% and 95.6%, respectively. This outlook is based on the company’s planned entry into offline retail channels, such as Costco, in the U.S. during the second half of the year. The firm also anticipated that the burden of air freight costs would be partially alleviated by securing safety stock.

The analyst stated, “Explosive revenue growth centered on the U.S. and Europe is continuing,” adding, “With the Black Friday effect in the fourth quarter, strong performance is expected to continue through the second half of the year.”