Lotte Shopping Q2 net jumps 17.1 pct

Lotte Shopping Co., the operator of South Korea\'s biggest department store chain, said Thursday that its second-quarter profit surged 17.1 percent from a year earlier on brisk sales. Net income came to 301.1 billion won (US$280 million) in the April-June period, compared with 257.1 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose 20.4 percent on-year to 5.4 trillion won over the cited period and operating profit went up 8.1 percent to 436.9 billion won, Lotte Shopping said. Lotte Shopping said the strong bottom line is attributable to an increase in sales at the department store branches and other retail outlets. In the first half, sales jumped 24 percent on-year to 10.9 trillion won and net profit rose 15.6 percent to 643.2 billion won, said Lotte Shopping. Shares of Lotte Shopping closed at 485,000 won on the Seoul bourse, up 2.11 percent from the previous session\'s close.