Cosmetics contract manufacturer Kolmar Korea posted record first-quarter earnings Friday, as robust sun care orders and scaled-up indie brands powered the K-beauty boom.
In the January-March period, operating profit climbed 31.6 percent from a year earlier to 78.9 billion won ($54 million), revenue rose 11.5 percent to 728 billion won, and net profit surged 158.7 percent to 60 billion won.
"Record first-quarter earnings were driven by increased skin care and sun care orders tied to seasonal demand," a company official said.
The core Korean business led the way, with revenue up 25 percent to 343 billion won and operating profit climbing 51 percent to 51.2 billion won, both quarterly records.
Kolmar Korea pointed to two forces reshaping the industry: The rapid rise of indie beauty brands and a growing pipeline of contract orders from luxury labels building out flagship skin care lines.
The company said it expects the momentum to carry into the second quarter. The Middle East conflict has had limited impact on first-half operations, though the company said it was reinforcing supply chain management to guard against longer-term disruption.
The Chinese unit posted a 14 percent revenue gain to 47.3 billion won as new clients began contributing sales, while the North American business softened on weaker orders from its largest customer. Kolmar Korea said new clients at its second US factory could help stabilize performance in the second half.
Pharmaceutical unit HK inno.N reported a 30.8 percent rise in operating profit to 33.2 billion won, carried by high-margin prescription drug growth despite a dip in health and beauty sales.
minmin@heraldcorp.com
