Top beauty groups saw their profits plunge by 60%

Top beauty groups saw their profits plunge by 60%

Meijumei · November 05,202508:56

The biggest drop in three years, as the former beauty industry leader faces operational difficulties.

What is the development situation of Ai Jing, who sold his son to survive because of the financial crisis?

In its Q3 report released yesterday (November 4), South Korean listed company Aekyung Industrial,001740.KRX reported a dual decline in both revenue and operating profit for its beauty business during the January-September period and Q3. The operating profit plunged by 61.8% in the January-September period and dropped by 45.8% in Q3, indicating a concerning development trend.

Aijin Financial Data reported total operating revenue of 491.6 billion won (2.433 billion yuan) in the first three quarters of this year, down 3.2% from a year earlier, while operating profit fell 43.7% to 24.5 billion won (121 million yuan).

△ Screenshot from Aijing's third quarter report

The financial data also exposes an undeniable reality: Aijin's overall performance has been sluggish, with its beauty division grappling with declining growth momentum and struggling to generate meaningful profit contributions. These challenges may compound the impact of declining profitability and the beauty business's underperformance, potentially plunging this former Korean cosmetics giant into a deep operational crisis.

A sharp decline! Beauty business operating profit drops by over 60%

Further analysis of Aijing's third-quarter report reveals a notable contrast: while revenue showed growth—a rare positive in its quarterly performance—profit margins experienced a double-digit decline.

According to the financial report, Aijin's Q3 revenue was 169.3 billion won (about 838 million yuan), up 2.4% year on year; operating profit was 7.3 billion won (about 36 million yuan), down 23.6% year on year.

△ Screenshot from Aijing's third quarter report

Breaking down the division, Aijing operates in two primary business segments: Beauty and Home/Personal Care.

Focusing on the performance of the beauty business, Aijung's beauty business revenue in the first nine months of this year was 160 billion won (about 792 million yuan), down 17.2% year on year, and operating profit was 10 billion won (about 50 million yuan), down 61.8% year on year.

In Q32025, Aijung's beauty business reported revenue of 51.5 billion won (about 255 million yuan), down 9.7% year on year, and operating profit of 2.1 billion won (about 10 million yuan), down 45.8% year on year.

△ Screenshot from Aijing quarterly report

In addition, the home/personal care business, the largest main business, reported revenue of 323.7 billion won (about 1.602 billion yuan) in the January-September period, up 4.1% year on year, while operating profit was 14.4 billion won (about 71 million yuan), down 16.3% year on year.

The business also posted higher revenue but lower profit in the first nine months of the year. Revenue in Q3 was 114.6 billion won (567 million yuan), up 7.1% year on year, while operating profit was 5.4 billion won (27 million yuan), down 5.8% year on year.

It can be seen that the beauty business and home/personal care business under Aijing Group have their own growth problems to varying degrees, which highlights that the development of Aijing Group is facing severe challenges!

The biggest drop in nearly three years, magnifying the financial crisis?

Examining the three-year performance trajectory, Aijing's challenges have been evident for years. The chart below shows the company's revenue and profits both grew in Q1-2023, but in Q1-2024, revenue increased while profits stagnated, with operating profit declining by 1.5%. This year's Q1-2024 figures reveal a sharp drop in both revenue and profits. Although the financial report doesn't disclose specific reasons, the multiple declining metrics clearly indicate deteriorating financial health.

Meanwhile, Aijin's beauty business has seen a more pronounced quarterly decline, marking its third consecutive year of losses. Specifically, in the past three years, only Q32023 recorded a modest single-digit revenue growth of 9.2% to 60.2 billion KRW (approximately 298 million RMB), while the rest showed varying degrees of decline.

In terms of revenue and operating profit, Aijing has seen a year-on-year decline. In Q32024, revenue not only failed to grow but actually decreased, while operating profit dropped by over 45% compared to the same period in 2025, nearly halving the profit.

According to the Korea Economic Daily, AK Holdings, the holding company of Aijing, had total liabilities of 4 trillion won (about 19.8 billion yuan) by the end of 2024, with consolidated net debt exceeding 2 trillion won (about 9.9 billion yuan), and the asset-liability ratio reaching 328.7%.

In the first half of 2025, Aijin's profits nearly halved, plunging 49.3% year-on-year. Its beauty business revenue dropped 20.3% compared to the same period last year. More alarmingly, when ranked against top Korean cosmetics brands, the company was dethroned for the second time by rising star APR, ending up at the bottom of the list. (See details)

Under the pressure of debt and performance, Aijin began to "sell its children to survive". Previously, Jumeili had reported on this in an article titled "2.6 billion! A famous beauty company was" sold cheaply "", which will not be repeated here.

As can be seen from the figure below, the move of Aijing Industry went through several rounds of negotiations, from the "listing sale" in the first round, to the "acquisition rumors" in the second round, and finally the "consortium bidding" form of transaction. The repeated rounds also reflected the compromise of Aijing from active sale to passive acceptance of low price.

Financial reports for the third quarter reveal that Aijin Cosmetics still faces significant challenges, but the earnings statement also highlights some positive developments: Velvet Lasting's TikTok sales surged 480% year-on-year in 2025 (ranking first in the foundation category in August 2025), while AGE20' S achieved revenue growth through active content campaigns.

Faced with this situation, Aijin clarified its regional layout and adjustments in the third-quarter report, stating that it will launch a new brand and achieve regional diversification by exploring new markets (China). In terms of marketing, it will strengthen sales and marketing with Douyin as the core, and develop new products such as the powder cake series.

In the U.S. market, it strengthened the competitiveness of its main brands by launching the new skincare brand signiq and entering Amazon and TikTok Shop in the U.S. The color range of AGE20'S was expanded to 20 shades, and through TikTok content viral marketing promotion, twoedit entered offline channels such as MINISO and Korean beauty specialty stores.

While Aijin hopes to reverse the situation by introducing new brands, expanding channels and markets, the answer is uncertain in an industry where the economy is slowing and competition is intensifying.

For Aijin, it is certain that the beauty-related business is facing severe challenges. As mentioned above, it is gradually losing its position among the top cosmetics enterprises in South Korea and has been overtaken by the new stars of Korean cosmetics. Whether it is eliminated or successfully reversed the unfavorable situation depends on whether the cards Aijin plays in the future will be effective.

Note: The exchange rate in this text is 1 Korean won ≈ 0.0050 RMB.

Source: Aijing Official Website, Financial Reports, and Korean Meejung Chinese Network

This article is published by 36Kr with authorization from WeChat official account "Jumeili" (ID: jumeili-cn), authored by Apple.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author. 36Kr merely provides information storage space services.

头部美妆集团利润暴跌六成

聚美丽·2025年11月05日 08:56

近三年**降幅，昔日美妆TOP集团深陷经营困局。

因陷财务危机，“卖子求生”的爱敬，如今发展境况如何？

在昨日(11月4日)发布的三季报中，韩国上市公司爱敬产业(Aekyung Industrial，001740.KRX)在1-9月、Q3的美容业务营业收入、营业利润均呈双降，其中1-9月营业利润更是暴跌61.8%，Q3亦大幅下降45.8%，可见，其发展形势不容乐观。

细分拆解爱敬财务数据，其在今年前三季度整体营业收入为4916亿韩元(约合人民币24.33亿元)，同比下降3.2%；营业利润为245亿韩元(约合人民币1.21亿元)，同比大跌43.7%。

△截图自爱敬三季报

上述财务数据也揭示了一个不争的事实，爱敬整体业绩疲软，加之美容业务也面临下滑困境，存在缺乏增长动能、难以贡献有效利润支撑等难点，或许会让这一昔日韩妆巨头，因整体盈利能力的下滑与美妆业务的拖累形成叠加效应，继而深陷经营困局。

腰斩！美容业务营业利润跌超60%

进一步拆解爱敬三季报，需要注意的是，其在Q3单季业绩上营收呈现增长，为本次主要业绩数据中少见的增长，但利润却呈双位数下滑。

据财报显示，爱敬Q3营收为1693亿韩元(约合人民币8.38亿元)，同比增长2.4%；营业利润73亿韩元(约合人民币0.36亿元)，同比下降23.6%。

△截图自爱敬三季报

划分部门来看，爱敬主要有两大业务板块，分别是美容业务(Beauty)、家居/个人护理业务(Home/Personal Care)。

聚焦美容业务业绩表现，爱敬今年1-9月美容业务营收为1600亿韩元(约合人民币7.92亿元)，同比下滑17.2%，营业利润为100亿韩元(约合人民币0.50亿元)，同比暴跌61.8%。

在2025年Q3，爱敬旗下美容业务营收为515亿韩元(约合人民币2.55亿元)，同比下滑9.7%，营业利润为21亿韩元(约合人民币0.10亿元)，同比大跌45.8%。

△截图源自爱敬三季报

此外，还有作为**大主营业务的家居/个人护理业务，1-9月营收为3237亿韩元(约合人民币16.02亿元)，同比增长4.1%；营业利润为144亿韩元(约合人民币0.71亿元)，同比下滑16.3%。

而该业务的单季业绩表现与1-9月同样呈增收不增利，Q3营收为1146亿韩元(约合人民币5.67亿元)，同比增长7.1%，营业利润为54亿韩元(约合人民币0.27亿元)，同比下降5.8%。

可以看到，爱敬旗下的美容业务和家居/个人护理业务都有各自不同程度的增长难题，这也凸显了爱敬集团如今的发展正面临严峻挑战！

近3年**降幅，财务危机放大？

拉长时间维度，纵观近3年业绩情况，可以从中窥见爱敬的困境早有迹可循。下图可见，爱敬自2023年1-9月营收、利润双增，在2024年同期增收不增利，营业利润微跌1.5%。反观今年1-9月营收、利润双降，虽在财报中未披露具体原因，但多个下滑数据已是财务恶化的证明。

与此同时，爱敬的美容业务单季业绩则下滑更为明显，且已是连续多年呈下跌！具体来看，近3年来中，仅2023年Q3营收呈高个位数增长9.2%至602亿韩元(约合人民币2.98亿元)，其余则呈不同程度的下滑。

在金额上，爱敬营收、营业利润呈逐年下滑，在同比上，2024年Q3营收不增反降，营业利润与2025年同期均同比跌超45%，利润几近腰斩。

另据韩国经济日报报道，爱敬的控股公司AK Holdings截至2024年底同期总负债高达4万亿韩元(约合人民币198亿元)，合并净债务已超过2万亿韩元(约合人民币99亿元)，资产负债率高达328.7%。

而在2025年上半年，爱敬利润已几近腰斩，同比下降49.3%，且细分来看，美容业务收入同比下跌20.3%，不止如此，在与头部韩妆的营收排名对比中，二度被韩妆新秀APR挤下，已至末位。（详见）

在负债累累、业绩持续承压下，爱敬开始“卖子求生”，此前，聚美丽在《26亿！知名美妆被“贱卖”了》一文中已有过相关报道，本文不再赘述。

下图可见，爱敬产业的出手经过多轮博弈，从首轮的“挂牌出售”、到次轮的“收购传闻”、最终以“财团竞标”形式交易，多轮反复也反映了爱敬从主动出售到被动接受低价的妥协。

如今，从三季报财务数字看，爱敬化妆品相关的表现仍面临严峻挑战，但值得注意的是，财报中也披露了一些“好消息”：Velvet Lasting粉饼的2025年TikTok销售额同比增长480%(2025年8月在底妆品类中****)，AGE20'S通过积极的内容活动实现了收入增长。

面对此境况，爱敬在三季报中对于未来明确了地区上的布局及调整，表示将推出新品牌，通过开拓新市场(中国)实现区域多元化，在营销层面，以抖音渠道为核心加强销售营销，开发新产品如粉饼系列。

在美国市场则加强主力品牌竞争力，推出新护肤品牌signiq，并入驻美国亚马逊、TikTok shop，AGE20'S色号扩展至20种，通过抖音内容病毒式营销推广，twoedit则进入线下渠道，如名创优品、韩国美妆精选店。

虽然，爱敬希望通过推新品牌、拓展渠道、市场等扭转不利局面，但在经济下行期，且竞争愈发剧烈的美妆产业中，答案存有变数。

于爱敬而言，确定的是如今美妆相关业务面临严峻的挑战，且上文提到其在韩国化妆品企业的头部阵营之中逐渐势微、已被韩妆新秀反超，是被出局，还是成功扭转不利局面，就看未来爱敬手中要打的牌能否奏效？

注：文中汇率换算1韩元≈0.0050元人民币

信息来源：爱敬官网和财报、韩国每经中文网

本文来自微信公众号“聚美丽”（ID：jumeili-cn），作者：苹果，36氪经授权发布。

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