Lotte Shopping's net losses narrow in Q4 on increased sales

Lotte Shopping said Wednesday its net losses narrowed in the fourth quarter from a year earlier on improved profitability stemming from sales growth of all product categories.

Net losses for the October-December period narrowed to 317.3 billion won ($251.5 million) from 503.6 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit in the fourth quarter fell 7.5 percent on-year to 101.1 billion won. Sales inched up 0.2 percent to 3.79 trillion won.

The operating profit was 39.7 percent lower than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The estimate of net profit was not available.

Lotte Shopping said its fourth quarter net losses narrowed on improved profitability stemming from an even sales growth of all product categories, including fashion and food.

For the whole of 2022, Lotte Shopping's net losses widened to 297.8 billion won from 272.9 billion won from 2021.

The company's operating profit came to 394.2 billion won in 2022, up 89.9 percent from the previous year, while sales fell 0.6 percent to 15.48 trillion won.

Lotte Shopping expects its retail businesses to recover this year as consumer demand for fashion grows from eased pandemic restrictions and the lifting of the indoor mask mandate.

"2022 was a year of recovery for major businesses, such as department stores and supermarkets, which suffered a drop in sales from the pandemic," a company official said.

"This year, we will focus on our new shopping complex scheduled to open in Hanoi, Vietnam, while strengthening competitiveness in the e-grocery sector with our U.K. partner, Ocado Group. Lotte Shopping will make efforts to increase profitability in all business areas," it said.

YONHAP