South Korean household goods and cosmetics maker LG Household & Health Care Ltd. said Thursday its first-quarter net profit rose more than 10 percent on robust sales despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Net income came to 258.8 billion won ($231.9 million) in the January-March period, up 10.5 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Its operating profit expanded 11 percent on-year to 370.6 billion won. Sales climbed 7.4 percent to 2.04 trillion won.

The operating profit was 3.5 percent higher than the average estimate in a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The estimate of net profit was not available.

LG Household & Health Care said the company posted record performances in the first quarter on strong sales from all three business segments -- cosmetics, household and beauty (HDB), and refreshment.

"First-quarter growth was driven mainly by steady gains in domestic and overseas sales of cosmetics," the company said. "In particular, sales of luxury-brand cosmetics were resilient in overseas markets."

Sales of its beauty business rose 8.6 percent on-year to 1.16 trillion won, with the segment's operating income swelling 14.8 percent.

Sales of the HDB sector increased 8.6 percent on-year to 520.7 billion won, resulting in an operating income of 66.2 billion won, up 1.4 percent from a year earlier.

The refreshment division posted sales of 357.5 billion won, up 2 percent from a year earlier, with its operating profit rising 6.9 percent to 50.1 billion won. (Yonhap)