11st said on Tuesday that annual operating profit in its open-market division returned to the black last year.

According to SK Square regulatory filings, 11st posted an annual operating loss of 39.6 billion won last year, narrowing the loss by 47 percent from a year earlier. The fourth-quarter operating loss was 10.9 billion won, down 53 percent from the same period a year earlier. That marked an 11th straight quarter of improved operating losses. Fourth-quarter revenue fell 19 percent from a year earlier to 108.8 billion won.

The company said it improved operating losses from a year earlier for three straight years on the back of performance in its core open-market business.

11st posted operating profit in the black in the open-market division for 23 months from March 2024 to last month. Its retail business based on direct purchases cut annual operating losses by about half from a year earlier through more efficient logistics operations.

11st continued its profitability-focused management based on intensive restructuring. It focused on strengthening high-margin product categories with high purchase frequency and repeat visits, including in the mart segment. Mart Plus, an integrated grocery shopping section launched in May last year, continued to expand the number of purchasing customers, sellers and products. As of end-2025, cumulative purchasing customers surpassed 3.2 million and cumulative sales volume topped 9 million items.

Its free membership programme, 11st Plus, also secured more than 1.3 million cumulative subscribers by year-end.

Its fast delivery service, Shooting Delivery, established a system last year for seven-day-a-week same-day delivery in the Seoul metropolitan area and next-day delivery nationwide. Shipment volume for 11st's fulfilment service, Shooting Seller, also rose more than threefold, up 226 percent from a year earlier.

11st plans to push its growth strategy in earnest this year by focusing more on securing customers and sellers, which are the central axes of its business. New customer sign-ups at 11st have risen by about 20 percent from a year earlier over the past three months, helped by strengthened marketing.

It also plans to strengthen its free membership programme, 11st Plus, and solidify a foundation for growth through synergies with SK Planet's OK Cashbag. In the first half of this year, it plans to open a reverse direct-purchase service in cooperation with Chinese e-commerce company JD.com. It also aims to create new growth opportunities by supporting domestic sellers' overseas expansion. It will also improve convenience for sellers through artificial intelligence-based automation of product registration.

Hyun-soo Park (박현수), chief executive of 11st, said the company will actively execute its growth roadmap by concentrating company-wide capabilities on attracting and energising customers and sellers based on fundamentals strengthened through disciplined management. He said it will drive continuous profitability improvements.