Seoul: Lotte Shopping Co. announced on Friday that its first-quarter net profit decreased to 18.1 billion won (US$13 million), marking a 75.1 percent decline from the previous year. This significant drop in profit has raised concerns among investors and market analysts.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that its operating profit for the quarter reached 148.2 billion won, compared to 114.9 billion won in the same period last year. Despite the increase in operating profit, sales slightly fell by 1.6 percent to 3.45 trillion won.
The reported earnings fell short of market expectations, as analysts had predicted a net profit of 41.3 billion won on average. This estimate was derived from a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The discrepancy between the anticipated and actual figures may impact investor sentiment and the company's future financial strategies.