Emart's net profit up 62 percent in 2020

Emart store in Seongsu-dong in eastern Seoul. [EMART]

Emart’s net profit rose 62 percent in 2020 on strong sales even at some of its physical stores.

Revenue rose 15.6 percent to 22 trillion won ($19.7 billion).

Emart operates e-commerce platform SSG.com, Emart, Josun Hotels & Resorts and big-box warehouse chain Traders.

Emart discount stores reported 1.4 percent on year growth in revenue, up from minus 3.4 percent in the previous year. Traders continued to report a double digit growth. Its on-year revenue growth last year was 23.9 percent, compared to 22.4 percent from a year earlier.

The company said growth was driven by its “strengthened customer-centered management despite an uncertain external environment caused by the Covid-19.”

Redesigning nine branches of Emart discount stores, including those in Wolgye-dong, northern Seoul, and Sindorim, western Seoul, to focus on groceries have also helped sales.

Emart did not yet report its fourth quarter earnings, but analyst Jeong So-yeon from Kyobo Securities projected Emart’s fourth quarter revenue at 5.93 trillion won, up 22.8 percent from a year earlier on strong growth from Traders and SSG.com.

Jeong added indoor dining due to Covid-19 has increased demand for grocery shopping, helping SSG.com sales.

“Groceries and food account for 47 percent of products sold on SSG.com.” Jeong added, “Based on logistics competitiveness as a retailer, the company is projected to outperform online groceries market and lead the growth.”

SSG.com can deliver around 120,000 packages per day. The capacity is expected to grow three-fold by 2025.

Lotte Shopping on Monday reported a 670.94-billion-won net loss last year, 17.8 percent lower than a year earlier on revenue that declined 8.8 percent to 16.08 trillion won.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]