Foreign Tourist and Fuel Relief Boost... BGF Retail Operating Profit Up 33.7% in Q2

Revenue Reaches 2.427 Trillion Won, Operating Profit Hits 84.9 Billion Won

BGF Retail, which operates the convenience store chain CU, posted solid performance in the second quarter of this year despite logistics strikes.

BGF Retail announced on August 6 that on a consolidated basis, revenue for the second quarter of this year reached 2.427 trillion won, up 6.0% from the same period last year. Operating profit for the same period increased by 22.3%, reaching 84.9 billion won.

As a result, cumulative sales for the first half of this year amounted to 4.547 trillion won, a 5.6% increase year-on-year, while operating profit surged by 33.7% to 123 billion won.

CU store exterior. BGF Retail

A BGF Retail official explained, "Favorable weather conditions such as fewer rainy days and higher average temperatures compared to last year, the continued recovery in consumer sentiment, the impact of high oil price relief payments, and increased inbound foreign tourists served as key momentum for our earnings growth."

In particular, there was a surge in demand for high-margin summer products such as beverages and ice cream, while differentiated items like the 'Crack-Your-Own Dessert' series and the 'PBICK The Kitchen' ready meals gained popularity. In addition, promotions for daily essentials linked to relief payments for high oil prices were carried out at the right time, driving overall sales growth. Consequently, the proportion of tobacco in sales decreased, while the share of food and processed food in sales rose by 0.4 percentage points and 0.9 percentage points year-on-year, respectively, thereby improving the average product margin.

BGF Retail also expanded grocery-focused stores in line with the trend of increasing one- and two-person households and launched 'Smart Grocery' stores to further reinforce its position as a local grocery shopping platform. The company diversified customer inflow by introducing stores specializing in tourism products for inbound foreign visitors as well as outlets selling imported groceries for foreigners living in Korea.

Meanwhile, BGF Retail's separate financial results are scheduled to be disclosed later this month. Typically, separate sales account for about 98% of consolidated sales.

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