(LEAD) Shinsegae Q2 net soars on robust department store, duty-free sales

Shinsegae Inc., the leading South Korean department store operator, announced a remarkable surge in its second-quarter net profit on Tuesday. The company reported a net profit of 107 billion won ($75.7 million) for the three months ending June, a staggering 13-fold increase from 8.31 billion won in the same period last year. This impressive growth was driven by robust sales at its department stores and duty-free business, according to a company spokesperson.

The success was particularly attributed to the strong performance of Shinsegae International and Shinsegae DF, which turned profitable due to thriving cosmetics sales and increased luxury brand sales. The company's operating profit also doubled to 167.1 billion won, compared to 75.3 billion won a year ago. Overall sales for the quarter grew by 7.97 percent, reaching 1.78 trillion won from 1.69 trillion won in the previous year.