Amorepacific, South Korea's largest cosmetics maker, said third-quarter operating profit rose 25.4% to 115.2 billion won, up from 91.89 billion won a year earlier, as sales at home and of its Aestura skin care brand abroad grew faster than costs. Revenue rose 11% to 1.13 trillion won, the company said. Yonhap, as carried by The Korea Times, reported the operating profit figures.

The bottom line moved the other way. Net profit fell 14.3% to 58.5 billion won from 68.2 billion won, weighed down by non-operating costs that the company did not immediately explain, Yonhap reported. For investors in Asia who have bought Korean beauty stocks as a play on global demand for K-beauty, the quarter showed the brands selling well, while leaving a gap below the operating line that the company has not yet explained.

Korea Sales Lead Amorepacific's Gain

The strongest gain was at home. Amorepacific's Korean business lifted revenue 11% to 620.5 billion won and operating profit 42% to 84.6 billion won, the company said in its results release on Oct. 29.

Premium lines Sulwhasoo and Hera, the derma brand Aestura and the body care label Illiyoon led the domestic gain. E-commerce and sales through multi-brand stores both grew at double-digit rates, department store sales per outlet rose, and travel retail grew by double digits on a pickup in inbound tourists, the company said. Yonhap pointed to multi-brand retailers such as CJ Olive Young and to duty-free shops as contributors.

The domestic gain came in a quarter when South Korea's economy grew 1%, about triple the Bank of Korea's forecast, although private consumption fell 0.2%.

Sulwhasoo grew at a double-digit pace, helped by a campaign for the 60th anniversary of its Concentrated Ginseng Rejuvenating Cream. Aestura's sales in Korea rose more than 50%, and the brand's global revenue grew more than 80%, according to the release.

Overseas Growth Shifts to the U.S., Japan and India

Overseas revenue at Amorepacific rose 12% to 495.5 billion won, and overseas operating profit rose 14% to 48.5 billion won. A year earlier, overseas revenue had grown just 3%, to 440.8 billion won, according to the company's third-quarter 2025 release.

The growth came from markets outside China. In the Americas, Aestura more than doubled its sales, with gains at Sephora and Amazon, and Innisfree grew more than 50%. In Japan, Aestura and COSRX each more than doubled, Hera grew more than 90%, and COSRX entered roughly 2,900 stores. Revenue in India rose more than 60% as the company launched Mamonde there, with Laneige also cited as a driver.

In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, COSRX revenue grew more than 30%, sales through TikTok Shop UK more than tripled, and Aestura entered Boots in Britain and Matas in the Nordic countries. Illiyoon's overseas revenue rose sixfold, from a small base.

The release gave no revenue figures for Greater China and said only that Aestura had widened its distribution there.

Amorepacific bought COSRX in 2023 and has consolidated its results since May 2024. Yonhap reported that shareholding gains from COSRX added to earnings in the quarter.

Holding Company and Smaller Brands

At Amorepacific Holdings, the listed parent, consolidated revenue rose 8.9% to 1.2073 trillion won and operating profit climbed 24.7% to 130.1 billion won. The operating margin widened to 10.8% from 9.4%. The group said revenue has now grown for nine consecutive quarters, and Amorepacific's own operating margin stayed above 10% for a third straight quarter.

Not every unit kept pace. The group's beauty subsidiaries, which include Innisfree, Etude, Espoir and Amos Professional, posted a 12% drop in revenue to 103.2 billion won and a 29% fall in operating profit to 5.2 billion won. The company tied the decline to restructuring, including cutting back on distribution channels. Other subsidiaries, including the Osulloc tea business, grew revenue 4% to 50 billion won and operating profit 52% to 8.8 billion won.

For the first nine months, Amorepacific's net income rose 17.8% to 264.84 billion won, Yonhap reported.

The company has set a target of 15 trillion won in annual sales by 2035, close to triple the 4.25 trillion won it booked in 2025, according to Yonhap. It plans to concentrate on five market groups: North America, Europe, China, India and the Middle East, and Japan and Southeast Asia, which together make up about 80% of global cosmetics sales. The fourth quarter brings the U.S. holiday season and Black Friday promotions on Amazon and at Sephora, the channels where Aestura grew fastest in the Americas.