Korea's top cosmetics maker AmorePacific Co. said Tuesday its fourth-quarter earnings jumped 77.6 percent on-year thanks to a strong performance in overseas markets.
Net profit came to 92 billion won ($76.2 million) in the October-December period on a consolidated basis, compared with 51.8 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The Amorepacific headquarters in Seoul (Yonhap)
Operating income rose 62.6 percent on-year to 161 billion won, while sales gained 22.9 percent to 1.45 trillion won, it said.
For all of 2015, the company posted 5.66 trillion won in sales, up 20.1 percent from a year ago.
Its net profit and operating income rose 35.5 percent and 38.6 percent, respectively.
AmorePacific's stellar business results stemmed from a strong performance in overseas markets, in part to rising popularity of Korean pop culture and expanded distribution channels.
"Duty-free sales by foreign travelers helped push up domestic sales, while Asian and North American markets showed fast growth," the company said in a release.
Its domestic sales grew 18.9 percent to 3.06 trillion won, and overseas sales jumped 44.4 percent to 1.25 trillion won
Sales in the Asian region soared 51.5 percent on-year in 2015 on the back of brisk sales of best-selling brands, such as Sulhwasoo in the high-end market and Laneige in the mid-end segment. Accumulated global sales of Sulhwasoo surpassed the 1 trillion-won mark last year.
Its sales in the North American market grew 39 percent as the company aggressively expanded distribution channels in the region.
Shares of AmorePacific tumbled 5.47 percent to 389,000 won on the Seoul bourse as China's weak manufacturing data released in the previous day weighed on investor sentiment. The benchmark KOSPI edged down 0.97 percent. (Yonhap)
