Amorepacific Q1 Net Profit Falls 5% on Base Effect, Operating Profit Up 7.6%

SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- Amorepacific Corp., South Korea's leading cosmetics company, said Wednesday its first-quarter net profit fell 5 percent from a year earlier due to a base effect. Net profit for the three months that ended in March fell to 113 billion won (US$76.6 million) from 119 billion won in the same period last year, the company said in a regulatory filing. The decline was largely attributable to the absence of one-off gains recorded in the previous year. "In the first quarter of 2025, one-off gains from the sale of intellectual property rights for French perfume brand Goutal were reflected, but no such gains were recorded this quarter," a company spokesperson said. Operating profit rose 7.6 percent to 126.7 billion won from 117.7 billion won during the cited period. Sales climbed 6.4 percent to 1.13 trillion won from 1.07 trillion won. The company cited solid growth in key overseas markets, including the United States and Japan, as a driver of overall performance. Demand for premium brands, such as Hera, Laneige and Aestura, remained strong overseas, supported by the continued global popularity of K-beauty products, the company said. Equity income from COSRX also contributed to earnings. Amorepacific acquired COSRX in 2023, with its earnings consolidated into the parent company's results starting in May 2024. Separately, the company said it is pursuing a long-term growth strategy unveiled in September last year, targeting nearly a threefold increase in sales to 15 trillion won by 2035, from 4.25 trillion won in 2025. As part of the plan, the company will focus on five key markets -- North America, Europe, China, India and the Middle East, and Japan and Southeast Asia -- while expanding its beauty solutions business and increasing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in operations. The regions account for roughly 80 percent of global cosmetics sales.