[Edaily Marketin KIM YEON-SEO Reporter] Lotte Corporation (A+) received orders exceeding four times the target amount during a bookbuilding process for institutional investors ahead of a public offering of corporate bonds.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 25th, Lotte Corporation secured 345 billion won in orders during the corporate bond bookbuilding conducted that day with a target of 80 billion won.

By tranche (maturity), orders totaling 205 billion won were received for the 2-year tranche (target: 40 billion won), and 140 billion won for the 3-year tranche (target: 40 billion won).

Lotte Corporation had set its target interest rate band at –30 basis points (bps) to +30 bps relative to the ratings provided by individual private bond rating agencies; it met its fundraising targets at –1 bp for the 2-year bond and at par (PAR) for the 3-year bond.

Lotte Corporation plans to use the funds raised through this corporate bond issuance to repay commercial paper (CP) maturing in January of next year. The proceeds from any increased issuance will also be used for debt repayment. The company is considering increasing the issuance by up to 150 billion won.

Meanwhile, Lotte Corporation’s consolidated revenue for the first half of the year was 7.7152 trillion won, up 1.1% from 7.6284 trillion won in the same period last year. Operating profit was 175.1 billion won, a 9.3% increase from 160.2 billion won during the same period. Net income was 78.8 billion won, marking a return to profitability.

Cash flow from operating activities (OCF) for the first half of the year reached 604.2 billion won, a sharp 34.8% increase from 448.1 billion won in the same period last year, indicating a notable improvement in cash generation. Coupled with the rebound in profitability, this reflects a significant increase in cash inflows into the company.