[Courtesy of Lotte]
Lotte, South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate, saw its group-wide earnings falling sharply in the second quarter of this year after it became the prime target of China's trade retaliation over a US missile shield.
Lotte has been battered by strong retaliatory steps such as a buyer's strike from Chinese consumers and tourists since it pushed ahead with a land swap deal to let US troops install missile interceptors at its golf course some 200 kilometers (124 miles) southeast of Seoul.
The consolidated second-quarter operating profit of Lotte Shopping, one of the group's flagships, plunged 49 percent on-year to 87.3 billion won (77.4 million US dollars). Sales fell 4.3 percent to 6.92 trillion won, and net profit was down 95 percent to 4.1 billion won, according to industry data and the Financial Supervisory Service.
The group's discount chain, Lotte Mart, suffered a second-quarter operating loss of 77 billion won. Sales showed a 7.9 percent fall.
Sales of Lotte Duty-Free, the country's leading duty-free chain, fell 30 percent. The retail giant heavily depends on Chinese consumers and tourists. Last year, about 70 percent of income at its duty-free stores came from Chinese visitors.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
