Seoul: CJ Logistics Corp., South Korea's leading logistics firm, announced on Tuesday a significant 26.1 percent decline in its net profit for the first quarter, attributing the decrease to a lower demand amid the ongoing economic slowdown. The company's net profit for the three months ending in March was recorded at 41 billion won (US$28.9 million), a notable reduction from the 55 billion won reported during the same period last year, as disclosed in a regulatory filing.

According to Yonhap News Agency, CJ Logistics attributed the decline in profitability to a combination of shrinking consumer sentiment and substantial initial expenses incurred from the launch of its new Everyday O-NE delivery service earlier this year. The O-NE service, which commenced on January 5, offers a seven-days-a-week delivery schedule, including public holidays. The brand name O-NE, pronounced "oh-nae," translates to "coming" or "visiting" in Korean, and was introduced to strengthen competition against Coupang Logistics Services, the logistics division of e-commerce giant Coupang Inc.

The company's operating profit also saw a downturn, dropping 21.9 percent year-on-year to 85.4 billion won in the first quarter, compared to 109.3 billion won in the same period the previous year. Despite the challenges, sales for CJ Logistics experienced a slight increase, rising by 2.4 percent to 2.99 trillion won, up from 2.92 trillion won over the same timeframe.