LG Household & Health Care Ltd., South Korea’s leading manufacturer of personal care and household products, on Tuesday reported record earnings in the second quarter of this year, thanks to brisk sales of premium beauty and skin care products and strong demand for its cosmetics products in China.

The company’s net profit on a consolidated basis came to 159.4 billion won ($140.3 million) in the April-June period, up 36.4 percent from a year ago. Operating profit also surged 34.1 percent to 225.4 billion won on sales of 1.55 trillion won that increased 18.5 percent over the same period.

LG Household & Health Care also raised its highest earnings in the first six months of the year. In the January-March period this year, the company raised 320.0 billion won in net profit and 458.9 billion won in operating profit on sales of 3.07 trillion won. It is the first time that LG Household & Health Care’s half-yearly sales topped 3 trillion won since its inception.

By division, the company’s cosmetics business posted 152.8 billion won in operating profit in the April-June period, up 55.1 percent from a year ago. Sales also reached 819.9 billion won, up 33.1 percent during the same period. Sales of premium cosmetics, in particular, soared a whopping 56 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, accounting for 70 percent of the company’s total cosmetics sales.

LG Household & Health Care’s two premium cosmetics labels - Whoo and Su:m - were the main drivers of growth. Sales of CNP Rx, a medical cosmetics brand, have also increased after the company started to set up independent shops inside local department stores.

Sales in China were mainly led by Su:m, whose beauty and skin care products are sold in department stores and online malls in China. The number of Whoo stores in China also expanded from 111 in the end of June last year, to 140 this year, raising China sales by 56 percent.

LG Household & Health Care also generated 37.4 billion won in operating profit from its consumer goods business in the second quarter of this year, up 6.0 percent from a year ago. Sales also jumped 7.4 percent to 373.7 billion over the same period. LG Household & Health Care’s health drink business also saw a 2.8 percent increase in operating income to reach 35.2 billion won on sales of 360.3 billion won, up 3.8 percent.

The Korean company is expected to continue to expand its business in China in the second half of the year through both offline and online sales distribution channels. LG Household & Health Care plans to open five more Su:m brand shops in high-end department stores in major Chinese cities this year and reinforce sales of Su:m flagship store opened on Alibaba Group’s Tmall.com marketplace.

By Park In-hye

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]