Seoul: Lotte Himart, South Korea's leading electronics retailer, announced on Monday that its second-quarter net profit surged more than sevenfold from a year earlier, driven by strong demand for private brand products and enhanced after-sales services. Net profit for the three months ended June rose to 11.11 billion won (US$8 million) from 1.44 billion won during the same period last year, the company stated in a press release.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the company's quarterly results were buoyed by increased sales of PLUX, Lotte Himart's private brand targeting single- and two-person households. The retailer also saw stronger demand for after-sales services, including repair, cleaning, and relocation. Operating profit more than tripled to 10.49 billion won from 2.78 billion won over the cited period, while sales increased 0.8 percent on-year to 594.2 billion won from 589.3 billion won.

In the first half of the year, Lotte Himart's net losses narrowed to 2.67 billion won from 18.08 billion won a year ago. Operating losses also decreased to 573 million won from 13.25 billion won, with sales climbing 0.8 percent on-year to 1.12 trillion won.

The company has set a target for this year to achieve an operating profit of 10 billion won on sales of 2.3 trillion won by promoting its own private brand products alongside offerings from multinational brands.