(LEAD) E-Mart Q1 net soars on discount store sales, equity gains

E-Mart Inc., South Korea's leading discount store chain, said Thursday its first-quarter net profit soared on increased sales in the discount store division and equity gains from its affiliates. Net profit for the three months ended in March jumped to 29.4 billion won (US$22 million) from 2.7 billion won during the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. "Increased sales at E-Mart discount stores and E-Mart Traders wholesale club outlets pushed up the quarterly bottom line. Shareholding gains from affiliates such as Starbucks Korea also helped," a company spokesperson said over the phone. E-Mart holds a 67.5 percent stake in the U.S. coffee chain here, and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. owns the remaining 32.5 percent stake. Operating profit more than tripled to 47.1 billion won in the first quarter from 13.7 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 1 percent to 7.2 trillion won from 7.13 trillion won during the same period. The company will continue to focus on price competiti veness to attract customers to its offline outlets, while beefing up high-end product lineups on its online platforms, such as the SSG.com, the statement said. Source: Yonhap News Agency