Korea’s leading cosmetics-maker AmorePacific said Monday that its first-quarter net profit jumped 33.1 percent on-year, led by strong sales in both domestic and overseas markets.

Net profit stood at 325.3 billion won ($284 million) in the January-March period, compared with 244.5 billion won during the same period last year, the firm said.

Operating profit rose 30.7 percent on-year to 419.1 billion won during the period, while sales rose 21.8 percent to 1.76 trillion won, it said.

Though domestic channels account for a majority of the company’s sales, its global sales showed a steeper growth rate in the first three months of this year, according to the data.

AmorePacific’s domestic sales expanded by 16 percent to 1.86 trillion won, led by the strengthening of its brand marketing efforts and distribution channels, the firm said.

The company’s overseas sales rose by 46 percent on-year in the first quarter to 408 billion won, led by the popularity of its leading brands -- Sulwhasoo, Laneige, Mamonde, Innisfree and Etude -- in Asia, particularly China.

In Asia, the company’s sales rose 50 percent on-year in the first quarter to 378.7 billion won, led by the expansion of Sulwhasoo and Innisfree’s distribution channels in the region.

Its North American sales also rose 24 percent on-year during the cited period, thanks to the improved local brand awareness of Laneige and Sulwhasoo, a luxury herbal cosmetics brand, the firm said.

In contrast, the company’s European sales dropped 6.4 percent on-year in the first quarter, due to the economic downturn and a continued slump in the region’s perfume market, the company said.

By brand, Innisfree, a low-end, naturalism-inspired cosmetics brand, marked the highest sales growth of 31 percent, while Etude House, another budget brand, recovered from last year’s slump to expand its sales by 14 percent.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)