APR (278470), a South Korean beauty and personal care company, posted another record quarterly performance in the first quarter of this year.
APR said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that preliminary first-quarter consolidated revenue rose 123% year-on-year to 593.4 billion won ($434 million). Operating profit for the same period climbed 173.7% to 152.3 billion won ($111 million).
Both figures marked the highest single-quarter results since the company's founding. The numbers also far exceeded market expectations. According to FnGuide, analysts had forecast revenue of 579.6 billion won and operating profit of 141.5 billion won.
Overseas performance drove the top-line growth. First-quarter international revenue surged 179.9% year-on-year to 528.1 billion won. The share of overseas sales in total revenue rose 18.1 percentage points to 89% over the same period. APR's overseas revenue share, which stood at 36.1% in 2022, surpassed the halfway mark to 44% in 2023 and 55.3% in 2024. Last year saw explosive growth, with the share reaching 80.4%.
By country, U.S. sales jumped 250.8% to 248.5 billion won over the same period. Other regions including Europe rose 216.1% to 190 billion won, while Japan increased 100.8% to 58.9 billion won. By business segment, cosmetics and beauty grew 174.3% to 452.6 billion won, while beauty devices rose 46% to 132.7 billion won.
At an earnings conference call following the announcement, APR Vice President Shin Jae-ha said the company expects strong results in the second quarter as well. "Although the second quarter is a seasonal off-peak period for cosmetics, current business conditions are favorable," Shin said. "We expect second-quarter revenue to be similar to or slightly higher than the first quarter." Regarding U.S. tariff refunds, he said, "Approximately 20 billion won in the low- to mid-range has been confirmed so far, but the exact amount is yet to be determined." He added, "The refunds are expected to be recognized sequentially, starting as early as the second quarter, with some portion reflected by the third quarter at the latest." He projected that the full amount would be reflected by the end of this year or into next year.
