SEOUL, KOREA - The shares of Lotte Confectionery are on the rise recently. Market watchers said this is due to the fact that its overseas units are turning to the black this year for the first time in ten years. The Lotte Confectionery stock was closed at 1,963,000 won on July 11. Beginning the year at 1,869,000 won, the stock has slid to the 1.7 million level at the end of May. But it started gaining the momentum in early June and has climbed up more than 10 percent for over a month. On July 2, it hit a 52-week high of 2,098,000 won during the trading hours.

 

Park Ae-ran, analyst with IBK Investment & Securities, said, "It was due to the fact that Lotte Confectionery's overseas units such as those in India and Pakistan have performed well, with the new business in Kazakhstan moving in the right direction." "The company expects its overseas units would make important contributions to its overall bottom line," she added.

 

The company moved overseas for the first time in 2004 by acquiring Parry Confectionery in Chennai (India) and renaming it as Lotte India. Lotte is also actively involved in corporate social responsibility activities, including the Lotte Confectionery Sweet Home, the children's home. Following the establishment of the first Sweet Home in Wanju (North Jeolla Province) last year, it opened a second home in Yecheon (North Gyeongsang Province). The homes were built with proceeds from selling its chocolate snack Pepero and Xylitol chewing gum.