AmorePacific Group’s first quarter profits surged 49.9 percent as sales of its cosmetics subsidiaries continued to grow in the domestic and international markets, company officials said Thursday

South Korea’s leading cosmetic and beauty product-maker said profits in the first three months jumped to 320 billion won ($293 million) from 213 billion won in the same period last year, while revenues rose 26.7 percent to 1.44 trillion won.

“Strong revenue growth in the domestic and overseas markets drove these increases,” an official said.

The results were fueled by sales growth of the company’s flagship brands such as AmorePacific, Innisfree and Etude.

Sales from the group’s cosmetics subsidiaries hit 1.38 trillion won, up 27.7 percent from a year earlier.

Its key subsidiary and South Korea’s top cosmetics-maker AmorePacific, which has premium lines such as Sulwhasoo and Hera under its wing, posted 1.2 trillion won in sales, up 29.2 percent from a year ago.

According to the company, AmorePacific’s overseas sales rose 40 percent to 269 billion won, led by growth in Asian markets especially China. 

“In the Chinese market, Laneige has shown significant sales lift with its top selling products including BB Cushion. Sulwhasoo and Innisfree also enjoyed strong performance,” the official said.

“Buoyed by the company’s effort to enhance brand awareness and diversify its business portfolio in China, sales in the market grew rapidly,” he added.

Along with growth in China, sales from duty-free stores continuously increased thanks to both Chinese tourists and Korean consumers.

But sales from the markets which entered a mature stage including France, the United States and Japan, dipped 7.7 percent to 38.9 billion won.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)