South Korean cosmetics companies saw their sales rise at an alarming clip last year helped by women’s increased spending on cosmetics despite the protracted economic downturn, industry data and sources said Thursday.

“Local cosmetics companies enjoyed a boom in their sales last year despite a prolonged economic slump as women increased spending on cosmetics,” an industry source said. “The companies’ sales are expected to grow between 10 percent and 20 percent this year.”

LG Household & Health Care Ltd. posted 3.89 trillion won ($3.4 billion) in sales in 2012, up 12.7 percent from the previous year, with its operating profit margin reaching 11.4 percent.

Operating profit margin or net profit margin refers to a measurement of what proportion of a company’s revenue is left over after paying for variable costs of production such as wages, raw materials, etc. A healthy operating margin shows a company’s good performances for a given period.

The 2012 sales of AmorePacific Corp. rose 39.1 percent from the previous year, while its net profit margin came to 12.8 percent.

ABLE C&C Co. logged 425.1 billion won in sales last year, up 39.1 percent from a year ago, with its operating profit margin tallied at 12.2 percent.

On the basis of last year’s stellar performances, the local cosmetics companies are seeking to step up their marketing activities in China this year in order to continue last year’s sales growth, the source said. (Yonhap News)