Seoul: Lotte Himart, South Korea’s leading electronics distribution company, reported on Wednesday a significant deepening of its net loss for the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year, attributed to a decrease in demand amid an economic slowdown.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the company’s net loss expanded to 316.16 billion won (US$219 million) in the three months ending in December, up from 46.53 billion won in the previous year. A company spokesperson explained that high inflation, elevated interest rates, and a downturn in the real estate market contributed to the decline in quarterly net results.

The company also recorded an operating loss of 16.25 billion won in the fourth quarter, an increase from the 10.03 billion won operating loss reported a year earlier. Sales also experienced a decline, falling 3.8 percent to 556.37 billion won from 578.55 billion won over the same period.

For the entire year of 2024, Lotte Himart’s net loss widened to 307.49 billion won, a sharp increase from 35.37 billion won the previous year. The operating profit for the year saw a steep decline of 79 percent on-year, totaling 1.72 billion won, while sales decreased by 9.7 percent to 2.36 trillion won.

In response to these challenges, the company has set a target to achieve an operating profit of 10 billion won on sales of 2.3 trillion won this year. This goal involves the introduction of its own private brand products as well as goods from multinational brands.