[THE INVESTOR] AmorePacific, the country‘s top cosmetics maker, said on Oct. 30 its third-quarter net profit plunged 32 percent from a year earlier.

Its net income came to 79.8 billion won (US$70.90 million) in the July-September period, compared with 117 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The operating profit for the cited period also fell 39.7 percent on-year to 101 billion won, with sales plunging 13.6 percent to 1.21 trillion won from a year earlier.

The company attributed the poor showing to the drawn-out slump in its domestic sales, along with a decrease in inbound tourists from China, which followed the Beijing government’s ban on sales of South Korea-bound package trips beginning mid-March. Such developments it said were the main factors weighing on profits.

The combined operating income of AmorePacific Group, which includes its smaller brands like Innisfree, Etude and other household products, reached 132 billion won in the third quarter, down 39.7 percent from a year ago. Total sales also dropped 14.2 percent on-year to 1.42 trillion won.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)