South Korean beauty tech firm APR delivered record quarterly results Thursday, riding a wave of overseas demand that now accounts for nearly 90 percent of total sales.
Revenue more than doubled from a year earlier to 593.4 billion won ($409 million) in the January-March period, while operating profit climbed 173.7 percent to 152.3 billion won, both all-time highs.
The cosmetics segment led the way, generating 452.6 billion won in revenue, up 174.3 percent on-year. Beauty devices also hit a record, with sales up 46 percent to 132.7 billion won.
Overseas markets now account for 89 percent of revenue, with international sales jumping 180 percent to 528.1 billion won. The US led the charge, as sales surged 251 percent to 248.5 billion won, or roughly 42 percent of total revenue.
“Following our entry into Target in April, we are accelerating our US offline expansion,” a company official said, adding that launches at Costco and Walmart are planned for the second and third quarters.
As for potential tariff refunds, the company said it expected to recover around 20 billion won, though reimbursements are likely to arrive gradually rather than in a lump sum.
Japan sales doubled to 58.9 billion won, while revenue from other overseas markets jumped 216.1 percent to 190 billion won.
"The UK is currently seeing our strongest growth through online marketplaces such as Amazon and TikTok," the official said. In March, APR launched Medicube across Sephora channels in 17 European countries and formed a strategic partnership with Indian beauty platform Nykaa.
The Middle East conflict has weighed on operations, though the company said the overall impact on the business is not expected to be significant.
"With shipping conditions strained and sales exposure to the US and Europe rising, logistics costs have increased to a great extent," the official said.
minmin@heraldcorp.com
