HiteJinro Q3 profit rises 6.2% as sales slide

SEOUL, November 13 (AJP) - HiteJinro’s third-quarter operating profit rose 6.2 percent from a year earlier to 57.7 billion won ($43.3 million), even as sales of both its soju and beer fell, the South Korean liquor maker said Friday.
 

Revenue dropped 5.5 percent to 632.4 billion won. Soju, its largest business, saw sales fall 3.5 percent to 367.5 billion won, but operating profit in the segment climbed 7 percent to 45 billion won. Beer sales slid 9.7 percent to 204.4 billion won, while beer profit rose 8.4 percent to 11.7 billion won.
 

The gain follows a 22.5 percent profit drop in the same quarter last year, and the operating margin recovered to about 9.1 percent from 8.1 percent. The company credited a profit-first strategy and continued cost cuts for the result, despite a shrinking domestic liquor market. It said new products such as Terra Sparkling should help it hold its market lead.

Tags: soju, drink, beer, beverage, results, quarterly results, liquor

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