'Unstoppable' APR Surpasses 1 Trillion Won in First-Half Sales for the First Time... Outperforms Amorepacific and LG Household & Health Care in Profitability

Second Quarter Sales: 767.5 Billion Won, Up 134% YoY
Record-High Operating Profit at 190.6 Billion Won
Industry-Leading Operating Profit and Margin
92% of Revenue from Overseas... Rapid Growth in North America and Europe

For the first time since its founding, APR recorded over 1 trillion won in sales in the first half of the year. In the second quarter, despite generating lower revenue than Amorepacific and LG Household & Health Care, it surpassed both companies in operating profit. A rapid surge in overseas sales, particularly in North America and Europe, is shaking up the domestic beauty market landscape.

On August 5, APR announced its consolidated earnings for the second quarter: sales reached 767.5 billion won and operating profit stood at 190.6 billion won. Both figures marked year-on-year increases of 134.2% and 134.5%, respectively. These are record quarterly highs for both revenue and operating profit since the company's establishment. The operating margin reached 24.8%.

This growth was primarily driven by cosmetics and beauty operations. Sales in this segment hit 648.3 billion won, a 185.5% increase from the same period last year, thanks to the expanded sales of bestsellers and the launch of new products. This comprised 84.5% of total sales. The combined effect of aggressive strategies in global markets and the expansion of online and offline distribution channels fueled rapid growth in the cosmetics and beauty segment, which translated to overall company performance.

89% of Last Year's Revenue Achieved Within Half a Year... Industry-Leading Operating Profit and Margin

The cumulative sales for the first half reached 1.3609 trillion won, after adding first-quarter sales of 593.4 billion won. This marks the first time APR has exceeded 1 trillion won in half-year revenues. In just six months, the company achieved 89.1% of its total sales from last year (1.5273 trillion won).

The growth in profits is even more striking. In the first half, APR posted an operating profit of 342.8 billion won, already reaching 93.8% of last year's annual operating profit of 365.4 billion won. The gap compared to last year’s full-year result stands at only 22.6 billion won.

Quarterly earnings also confirm this steep growth trajectory. APR's sales were 155.5 billion won in the second quarter of 2024, rising to 174.1 billion won in the third quarter and then 244.2 billion won in the fourth. Last year, sales figures were 266 billion won in the first quarter, 327.7 billion won in the second, 385.9 billion won in the third, and 547.6 billion won in the fourth. This year, sales continued to climb from 593.4 billion won in the first quarter to 767.5 billion won in the second. From the second quarter of last year through the second quarter of this year, APR achieved more than double the sales of the same quarter in the previous year for five consecutive quarters. Sales in the second quarter of this year were about 4.9 times higher than in the same period two years ago.

Based on its growth in size and high profitability, APR has even outperformed cosmetics industry giants in operating profit. In the second quarter of this year, Amorepacific recorded sales of 1.1759 trillion won and operating profit of 117.3 billion won. LG Household & Health Care posted 1.6574 trillion won in sales and 102.8 billion won in operating profit. Focusing solely on LG Household & Health Care's beauty business, the figures were 818.4 billion won in sales and 44.4 billion won in operating profit. APR's sales were 65% of Amorepacific's and 94% of LG Household & Health Care's beauty business, but its operating profit was 1.6 times and 4.3 times higher, respectively. APR’s operating margin, at 24.8%, far exceeded that of Amorepacific (10.0%) and LG Household & Health Care’s beauty business (5.4%).

92% of Sales from Overseas... Europe Emerges as a New Growth Driver Alongside North America

Overseas business is at the heart of this high-profit growth. APR's international sales for the second quarter reached 704.2 billion won, up 178% from the same period last year. Overseas sales accounted for 91.8% of total revenue. International sales also outpaced those of Amorepacific (551.6 billion won) and LG Household & Health Care (584.5 billion won).

Notably, sales in North America increased by 264.6% to 376.3 billion won. This outperformed Amorepacific's North America sales of 210.4 billion won and LG Household & Health Care's 205.8 billion won by 165.9 billion won and 170.5 billion won, respectively. Growth in online sales, as well as expanded placement in major U.S. retailers such as Target and Walmart, drove this growth. Entry into Costco is also planned for the second half of the year.

Europe has also become a new center of growth. Sales in the five major European countries—UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain—rose to 145.1 billion won, a 380.3% increase year on year. This was fueled by expansion of sales networks primarily through Amazon and TikTok Shop. As a result of the increased scale of its European business, APR began disclosing European results as a separate region starting this quarter.

Combined sales from North America and Europe reached 521.4 billion won, accounting for 68% of total sales. The proportion of sales from these two regions rose 28 percentage points year on year, from 40% in the second quarter last year. Sales in Asia increased by 14.5% to 121.1 billion won, while sales in other regions jumped 325% to 61.7 billion won.

An APR spokesperson said, "The growth foundation established in North America is quickly expanding into new markets such as Europe," adding, "We will strengthen our product and brand competitiveness and expand our global distribution networks to continue this overseas growth momentum."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.