Operating profits of major listed companies in the third quarter of this year (July to September) are expected to increase compared to the same period last year. An analysis of the expected operating profits of 95 listed companies that more than three domestic securities firms have provided forecasts for indicates that the total amount of operating profits is projected to rise compared to last year. However, given that performance forecasts have undergone significant changes even within a month, it seems unlikely that there will be a relaxation of vigilance until the next earnings release period.
According to the financial information firm FnGuide on the 4th, securities firms are predicting that the operating profits of 95 listed companies in the third quarter will reach approximately 45.9395 trillion won. This is a scale that exceeds last year's figure of 39.278 trillion won by 17% (6.6615 trillion won).
Expectations are high for SK hynix, which leads the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market. Securities firms anticipate that SK hynix's operating profit for the third quarter will reach 10.2734 trillion won, an increase of 46.1% (3.2434 trillion won) compared to the same period last year. It is expected that SK hynix's quarterly operating profits will exceed 10 trillion won for the first time in history.
Korea Electric Power Corporation is also expected to achieve an operating profit of 4.9814 trillion won in the third quarter while alleviating energy price burdens. This is an increase of 46.7% (1.5854 trillion won) compared to the same period last year. The shipbuilding companies, including HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Hanwha Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries, which are benefiting from an upward market trend, along with LG CHEM, Celltrion, and Hyundai E&C, are also expected to see significant increases in operating profits compared to the same period last year.
On the other hand, the earnings outlook for the automotive sector, which is expected to face significant impacts from the imposition of tariffs, is somewhat bleak. Securities firms predict that the third quarter operating profits for Hyundai Motor and Kia will decrease by 22.7% (812 billion won) and 15.2% (438.2 billion won), respectively, compared to last year.
Samsung Electronics is also expected to see an operating profit forecast of 8.7665 trillion won in the third quarter, which will be about 4.5% (416.8 billion won) less than the same period last year, according to securities firms. In particular, it is expected that the situation of Samsung Electronics trailing behind SK hynix in quarterly operating profit will continue into the third quarter.
However, since securities firms' profit forecasts are quickly adjusted depending on the circumstances, there is a possibility that the atmosphere may change in the remaining month.
ECOPRO BM is a representative example. Securities firms predict that ECOPRO BM will record an operating profit of 45 billion won in the third quarter of this year, successfully turning to a profit compared to the same period last year. This is 166.5% (281 million won) more than the operating profit forecast (16.9 billion won) from a month ago. Many opinions suggested that it would succeed in rebounding thanks to its energy storage system (ESS) business.
Hanon Systems, SIMMTECH, APR, Netmarble, and Kakao have also seen significant adjustments in their operating profit forecasts for the third quarter compared to a month ago.
Conversely, the operating profit forecast for SK Telecom has shrunk from 206.3 billion won a month ago to 57.9 billion won currently. This is due to the impact of the Personal Information Protection Commission's decision to impose a record penalty surcharge of 134.7 billion won on SK Telecom related to a hacking incident.
NCSOFT, SOLUM, Com2uS, NEXTIN, HANSSEM, Duksan Neolux, Kumho Petrochemical, and L&F have also seen their operating profit forecasts decrease by more than 10% in the past month.