Lotte shopping reports 35-billion-won second-quarter net loss

People walk in front of Lotte Department Store in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, on July 11. [NEWS1]

Lotte Shopping reported a 34.52-billion-won ($30 million) net loss in the second quarter, a significant improvement from the 199-billion-won loss a year earlier.

On Friday, the company released preliminary results for the April-June period.

Sales were down by 3.5 percent during the same period to 3.9 trillion won.

Lotte Shopping runs Lotte Department Store, Lotte On e-commerce app, Lotte Mart discount stores and Lotte Hi-Mart household electronics shops.

Department store sales rose 10 percent in the first half to 1.4 trillion won, while the discount store sales declined 7.5 percent to 2.9 trillion won.

E-commerce sales fell by 30 percent to 56 billion won.

Lotte Shopping said the transaction amount and traffic increased on its Lotte On app, but sales fell due to a “change of accounting standards.”

Total transactions made on Lotte On jumped 30 percent on year in the second quarter, according to Seo Jeong-yeon, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities.

Seo added that sales at department stores could grow rapidly after Covid-19 regulations are eased, but the analyst noted that domestic fashion consumption has not returned to 2019 levels.

Lotte Shopping plans to open a new department store in Dongtan, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 20.

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