Lotte Rental (089860.KS) reported first-quarter consolidated operating profit of 83.6 billion won ($61 million), up 24.8% from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing Thursday. Revenue also rose 6.6% to 730.9 billion won.
The company said its business restructuring strategy is producing tangible results. Lotte Rental has shifted away from a revenue structure centered on used car sales, strengthening its core rental business and transitioning its business model toward used car rentals and a used car retail platform.
In the long-term auto rental segment, the number of vehicles in the first quarter rose 5.5% year-on-year, while operating profit grew 34.4%. Short-term auto rentals also posted a 95.7% increase in operating profit, driven by enhanced customer-focused service competitiveness in response to demand from foreign tourists visiting Korea.
The used car sales business delivered a 16.3% revenue gain and a 21.0% rise in operating profit, supported by expanded auction volume through Lotte Auto Auction and the stabilization of its "Tika" business.
Lotte Rental emphasized that the number of vehicles deployed and net additions — key leading indicators of future performance — also rose 16.0% and 23.7% year-on-year, respectively, securing stable growth momentum. Given the nature of the rental car business, the current expansion in vehicle deployment is directly linked to revenue over the next three to five years, suggesting that earnings growth will widen further.
"We will continue to strengthen our earnings capacity by pursuing balanced growth across both long-term and short-term rental segments alongside cost efficiency," said Choi Jin-hwan, CEO of Lotte Rental. "2026 will be the year when the results of our business restructuring become fully visible."
