(LEAD) Shinsegae Q1 net income sharply up on department store sales

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES throughout; ADDS photo) SEOUL, May 12 (Yonhap) -- Shinsegae Inc., the operator of South Korea's major department store chain, said Tuesday its first-quarter net income nearly doubled from a year earlier on strong department store sales amid an increase in foreign travelers. Shinsegae's net profit for the January-March period totaled 145.4 billion won (US$98 million) on a consolidated basis, up a strong 88.5 percent from 77.1 billion won the same period last year, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit surged 49.5 percent on-year to 197.8 billion won and sales also rose 10.9 percent to 1.84 trillion won. The earnings for the retailer exceeded market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 74.7 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. This undated file photo shows the corporate logo of Shinsegae Department Store. (Yonhap) The company attributed the larger-than-expected first-quarter earnings to strong sales growth in its department store business. The department store division posted sales of 2 trillion won, up 13 percent from a year earlier, supported by revamped store spaces and an increase in foreign visitors. Foreign sales soared 90 percent on-year, accounting for 6.9 percent of total sales. Shinsegae International, the company's fashion and cosmetics subsidiary, recorded 295.6 billion won in sales for the first quarter, up 15.7 percent from a year ago, on rising demand for imported cosmetics brands. The duty-free retail division saw its sales rise 5 percent on-year to 589.8 billion won as overseas travel rebounded. Separate government data showed the number of foreign visitors increasing 23 percent from a year earlier to a record 4.76 million in the January-March period. brk@yna.co.kr(END)