By Kwanwoo Jun


Amorepacific Corp.'s shares slid on Wednesday amid concerns that the Covid-19 lockdowns in China dealt a severe blow to the company's second-quarter earnings.

Shares in the South Korean cosmetics company plunged 8.2% to 129,500 won ($100.23) in morning trading, compared with the benchmark Kospi's 0.9% fall.

The stock is losing ground amid expectations that it will post below-consensus earnings in the second quarter after having delivered a resilient performance in the prior quarter, despite challenges.

Hyundai Motor Securities analyst Jung Hea-jin said in a research note Wednesday that Covid-19 lockdowns in major Chinese cities likely pummelled Amorepacific's cosmetic sales during the second quarter. She expects total revenue to drop 13% from a year earlier for the April-June period, and sales in China to slump 23%.

The analyst expects operating profit to plunge 36% to KRW58.1 billion for the quarter, below an FnGuide-compiled consensus forecast of KRW85 billion.

She cut the stock's target 11% to KRW160,000 but maintained a marketperform rating, citing a possible recovery driven by the easing of lockdowns of China that started in June.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-21-22 2220ET