Seoul: Shinsegae Inc., the operator of one of South Korea's leading department store chains, announced a nearly 13-fold increase in its second-quarter net profit, driven by strong sales in both its department stores and duty-free segments. For the quarter ending in June, the company reported a net profit surge to 107 billion won (US$75.7 million), up from 8.31 billion won during the same period last year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the impressive financial performance was attributed to robust sales in the department store division and significant shareholding gains from the company's trading and fashion affiliates. A company spokesperson highlighted that Shinsegae International and Shinsegae DF, the duty-free unit, both returned to profitability, largely due to strong cosmetics sales and increased luxury brand sales, respectively.

The company's operating profit more than doubled, reaching 167.1 billion won in the second quarter, compared to 75.3 billion won the previous year. Additionally, sales showed a healthy increase of 7.97 percent, climbing to 1.78 trillion won from 1.69 trillion won in the same period.

For the first half of the year, Shinsegae's net income nearly tripled to 252.34 billion won, up from 85.4 billion won in the previous year. During this period, the operating profit rose by 75 percent year-on-year to 364.96 billion won, with sales totaling 3.63 trillion won, reflecting an increase of 7.97 percent over last year.