Seoul: E-Mart Inc. on Wednesday reported a net profit of 79.4 billion won (US$53.1 million) for the first quarter, marking a 5 percent decrease from the same period last year. The large discount store operator revealed these figures in a regulatory filing, highlighting the financial performance for the January-March period.
According to Yonhap News Agency, E-Mart's operating profit saw an increase of 11.9 percent on-year, reaching 178.3 billion won. However, the company's revenue experienced a decline, falling 1.3 percent to 7.12 trillion won. Despite the rise in operating profit, the earnings fell short of market expectations. Analysts had estimated the net profit to be around 92.6 billion won, based on a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data division of Yonhap News Agency.