(LEAD) Shinsegae Q3 net drops by 50 pct on equity losses

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SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- Shinsegae Inc., a South Korean retail giant, said Monday its third-quarter net income dropped 50 percent from a year earlier on equity losses from affiliates.

Net income came to 94.5 billion won (US$67.3 million) on a consolidated basis for the three months ending in September, compared with 188.9 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit was 153 billion won, up 49.4 percent from a year ago. Sales rose 17.3 percent to 1.95 trillion won.

Shinsegae said the decline in net profit is blamed on losses from its duty-free stores and home furnishing affiliate Shinsegae Casa.

Shinsegae Casa saw 5.8 billion won of operating losses due to brisk home furniture sales and investment costs, it explained.

The group's department store business' operating profit grew 50.5 percent to 109.4 billion won on increased demand for fashion and golf wear.

It's fashion retail affiliate, Shinsegae International, reported an operating profit of 24.2 billion won, up 71 percent from a year ago.

Shinsegae is a major South Korean retailer of fashion and lifestyle goods. It operates 12 department stores in the country, and owns Shinsegae International, a fashion retailer, and Shinsegae duty-free stores.

fairydust@yna.co.kr
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