Lotte Shopping net profit soared on SE Asia growth

Lotte Shopping, the retail unit of Lotte Group, said Friday its net profit surged 68.9 percent in the first quarter on robust growth in Southeast Asia.

The solid bottom lines come despite the company’s slump in its Chinese operations that have been reeling from restrictions imposed by Beijing.

Net income was 111.5 billion won ($98.9 million) in the January-March period, compared with 66 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The Kospi-listed firm, which operates Lotte’s key retail units of Lotte Department Store, Lotte Mart and Lotte HiMart, cited improved profitability in its Southeast Asian business as the main reason for its sound performance.

Its operating profit, however, edged down 0.4 percent on-year to 207.4 billion won over the cited months, with sales falling 1.7 percent to 7.06 trillion won, reflecting the retail giant’s plight that stems from a major setback in China.

Lotte is at the center of a series of trade retaliations led by the Chinese authorities after it gave its property to the Korean military to be used as a site to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system. YONHAP