[THE INVESTOR] Amorepacific said on Jan. 31 its fourth-quarter net profit dropped 76.2 percent from the previous year, due largely to a sharp decline in the number of Chinese tourists.

Net income came to 17.3 billion won (US$16.17 million) in the October-December period, compared with 73 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit fell 24.7 percent on-year to 76.9 billion won during the cited period, and sales declined 13.4 percent to 1.14 trillion won, it said.

The company attributed the poor performance to the decrease in inbound tourists from China.

Amorepacific said it logged a net profit of 398 billion won last year, down 38.4 percent on-year. Operating income was down 29.7 percent to 596.4 billion won and sales were 5.12 trillion won, declining 9.2 percent from a year earlier. 

The combined net income of AmorepPacific Group, which includes smaller brands like Innisfree and Etude, reached 20.9 billion won in the fourth quarter, down 76.2 percent from a year ago. Total operating profit was down 32.8 percent to 90.3 billion won, and sales were down 14.2 percent on-year to 1.34 trillion won.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)