Seoul: Lotte Shopping Co., an affiliate of the South Korean retail conglomerate Lotte Group, announced a net loss for the third quarter, attributing the downturn to a one-off factor. The company reported a net loss of 48.7 billion won (US$33.7 million) for the July-September period, a significant shift from a profit of 6.5 billion won in the same period the previous year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the company's operating income decreased by 15.8 percent year-on-year, amounting to 130.5 billion won, while sales dropped by 4.4 percent to 3.41 trillion won. The operating profit was 6 percent below the average estimate, based on a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data division of Yonhap News Agency. However, the estimate for net profit was not provided.

Lotte Shopping attributed the financial setback primarily to losses incurred from withdrawing from a development project in Ulsan, a southern port city. Despite the overall decline, the department store division experienced a slight uptick in sales, rising 0.7 percent year-on-year to 734.3 billion won, with operating profit increasing by 9 percent to 79.6 billion won.

On the other hand, the grocery division, encompassing supermarkets and discount stores, reported sales of 1.3 trillion won, marking an 8.8 percent decrease from the previous year. The operating profit in this segment fell sharply by 85.1 percent to 7.1 billion won.