By Kwanwoo Jun


Amorepacific Corp.'s shares rallied Thursday after its first-quarter earnings beat market consensus in a show of resilient operations amid tough business conditions.

The South Korean cosmetics company's stock surged as much as 12% to 182,500 won ($144.1) in early trade after its earnings report. It was last 9.8% higher around noon, outperforming the benchmark Kospi's 0.4% gain.

The company's net profit fell 12% on year to KRW120.10 billion for the January-March quarter, above a FactSet-compiled consensus forecast of KRW102.37 billion.

The first-quarter profit marked a turnaround from the previous quarter's net loss of KRW54.4 billion.

Cosmetics sales declined at duty-free shops in South Korea and overseas markets, particularly in China, due to the Covid-19 resurgence, as rising marketing costs also dragged on earnings for the quarter, the company said.

Sales of beauty products fell 10% on year in China, where strict lockdowns are in place to curb the pandemic.

But resilient online cosmetics sales growth in South Korea and brisk offline sales of beauty products in the U.S. offset sluggish business elsewhere, it added.


Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-27-22 2303ET