Aekyung Industrial (018250.KS) reported a preliminary first-quarter consolidated operating loss of 1.6 billion won, swinging from an operating profit of 6 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing Friday.
Revenue for the same period rose 5.1% year-on-year to 158.8 billion won, while net profit jumped 172.2% to 13.7 billion won.
Aekyung Industrial said the results reflect one-off costs including special performance bonuses paid to employees during its acquisition by Taekwang Group in March. Excluding one-off costs, operating profit stood at 5.7 billion won.
First-quarter revenue from the cosmetics business rose 13% year-on-year to 51.9 billion won. The segment swung to an operating loss of 1.5 billion won, but operating profit excluding one-off costs reached 500 million won. The growth was driven by the company's strategy of diversifying into global markets with country-specific brand approaches. Skincare brand "SIGNIC" has been rapidly expanding its global recognition through aggressive marketing, including entering Amazon and TikTok Shop in the United States, Tmall and TikTok channels in China, and operating pop-up stores at Musinsa in Korea.
Makeup brands "AGE20'S" and "LUNA" have strengthened their push into the European market by entering Poland and the United Kingdom, respectively. In China, the company is sustaining revenue growth through business restructuring, expansion of live channels such as TikTok and Kuaishou, and the development of new strategic products.
Revenue from the household goods business came in at 103.7 billion won, down 0.3%, while operating profit fell 95.8% to 200 million won. However, operating profit excluding one-off costs rose 12.2% year-on-year to 5.5 billion won. The company emphasized strong sales performance in key strategic countries, having newly entered major global distribution channels including Walmart in the United States, Rossmann in Poland, and Matsumoto Kiyoshi in Japan. The company is also strengthening country-specific strategies, expanding sales of "Showermate Goat Milk" in the United States, "Kerasys Perfume" in Poland, "Lovsent" and "Kerasys Perfume" in Japan, and "Kerasys Hair Clinic" in Russia and China.
Aekyung Industrial plans to leap into a global total beauty company by intensively nurturing skincare brands such as SIGNIC and One Thing, while strengthening the global growth of makeup brands including AGE20'S and LUNA. The company aims to raise the share of cosmetics in total revenue to more than 50% by 2028 and grow major personal care brands such as Kerasys, Showermate and Lovsent into global mega brands.
