Hotel Shilla operating profit jumps 382 percent as duty-free slump drags revenue lower

Hotel Shilla said Wednesday its third-quarter operating profit rose 382.4 percent from a year earlier to 55.2 billion won ($41.7 million), even as revenue slipped 6.5 percent to 959 billion won ($724 million) on continued weakness in duty-free demand.

Revenue a year earlier was 1.03 trillion won, and operating profit 11.4 billion won. Net income for the July-September quarter came to 38.4 billion won ($29 million), and pre-tax profit from continuing operations swung to 50.3 billion won from a loss of 187 billion won a year earlier.

The company said the duty-free market has struggled to recover as Chinese shoppers spend less and a stronger dollar against the won erodes price competitiveness, while fixed costs such as airport rent weigh on results. Domestic duty-free sales reached about 12.5 trillion won ($9.44 billion) in 2025, roughly half the 2019 level before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hotel Shilla operates through two business divisions: duty-free, which runs downtown shops in Seoul and Jeju and outlets at Incheon International Airport, Singapore Changi and Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok, and hotels and leisure, which provides rooms, food and beverage and banquet services at hotels in Seoul and Jeju.

Hotel Shilla said it is pursuing restructuring and cost cutting, differentiating its merchandise to broaden its customer base, and working to improve profitability at its businesses in Korea and abroad.