(LEAD) CJ Cheiljedang Q1 net income down 80.1 pct on weak domestic consumption, cost burden

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SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- CJ Cheiljedang Corp., a major South Korean food manufacturer, on Monday said its first-quarter net profit plunged 80.1 percent from a year earlier due to weak domestic consumption and cost burden.

Net profit for the three months ended in March fell to 49.3 billion won (US$37.3 million) from 247.8 billion won during the same period of last year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The earnings fell short of market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 85.6 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

CJ Cheiljedang said its operating profit fell 42 percent on-year to 252.8 billion won in the first quarter. Sales edged up 1.3 percent to 7.07 trillion won.

The main food business saw its operating profit plunge 58.8 percent on-year to 134 billion won in the first quarter, but its operating profit from overseas markets jumped by over 50 percent thanks to an increase in sales in global strategic products, such as dumplings and kimchi, in the United States and Europe, according to the company.

CJ Cheiljedang also said its overseas sales accounted for 49 percent of total sales in the first quarter.

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