[Edaily Reporter KYUNG GYEYOUNG ] LOTTE SHOPPING CO., LTD. saw improvements in both revenue and profitability in the third quarter, driven by balanced growth across its department stores, supermarkets, and home shopping divisions. In particular, its department store division set a new all-time record for third-quarter sales.

LOTTE SHOPPING CO., LTD.(023530)The company announced on the 6th that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter was 175.6 billion won, a 34.5% increase compared to the same period last year. During the same period, revenue rose 7.1% to 3.6532 trillion won, and net income turned to a profit of 142.4 billion won, according to preliminary figures.

This earnings growth was driven by Lotte Department Store. Domestic sales for the department store division reached a record high of 773.1 billion won, up 5.3% from the third quarter of last year. This was largely due to a 15% increase in sales at large-scale stores and a 10 percentage point expansion in the share of sales to foreign customers, which reached 29% at the main store. Operating profit also rose 32.9% year-over-year to 105.8 billion won.

The department store division’s overseas segment reported sales of 35 billion won, up 14.8% year-over-year, and operating profit of 7.1 billion won, a 99.2% increase. Profitability improved across all stores in Vietnam and Indonesia, with Vietnam’s “Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi” surpassing 1 trillion won in cumulative sales—a first for a Korean department store—just three years after opening.

The discount store division, which operates Lotte Mart, also recorded sales of 1.1502 trillion won—a 16.2% increase compared to the third quarter of last year—and an operating profit of 17.9 billion won, up 725.5%. Although the cost burden increased due to investments in “Zeta” Smart Centers, operating profit surged as offline sales performed strongly. The fact that Chuseok was moved up to September, along with the base effect of consumer coupons and reduced competition, had a positive impact. Same-store sales growth was 18%. Lotte Super also posted strong results, with sales of 334.7 billion won and operating profit of 5.7 billion won, up 6.7% and 16.2%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

The e-commerce division, which operates Lotte ON, posted revenue of 26.7 billion won, an 18.4% increase from the same period last year. This was driven by a 6.5% rise in Lotte ON’s transaction volume compared to the third quarter of last year. The operating loss narrowed to 7.2 billion won from 9.6 billion won in the third quarter of last year.

LOTTE SHOPPING CO., LTD. and Culture Works also showed growth in both revenue and profitability compared to the same period last year. LOTTE SHOPPING CO., LTD. recorded revenue of 226.8 billion won, up 7.3%, and operating profit of 13.1 billion won, up 27.6%. This was driven by a 4% increase in total revenue, led by Live TV and T-commerce. Buoyed by box office hits such as “Odyssey” and “Spider-Man,” Cultureworks saw its revenue rise 14.5% to 146.3 billion won and its operating profit jump 77.9% to 14.7 billion won.

Lim Jae-cheol, Head of Finance at LOTTE SHOPPING CO., LTD., emphasized, “A combination of solid performance from domestic and international department stores, a recovery in profitability across key business units such as supermarkets, and the results of structural improvements at our subsidiaries enabled us to achieve meaningful revenue growth and profit improvement in the third quarter as well.” He added, “We will continue to strengthen the fundamental competitiveness of our core businesses and maintain stable growth through ongoing structural improvements.”