Last year, the performance of KOSDAQ-listed corporations generally improved. About six out of 10 KOSDAQ corporations posted profits, delivering relatively solid results.
On Apr. 3, the Korea Exchange (KRX) released "KOSDAQ market December settlement of account corporations' fiscal year 2025 settlement of account results," which showed that, based on consolidation and an analysis of 1,268 corporations last year, these listed corporations recorded 29.71658 trillion won in sales, up 8.03% from a year earlier.
During the same period, operating profit and net profit were 11.7124 trillion won and 5.2952 trillion won, up 17.18% and 51.42%, respectively, from a year earlier.
The financial structure worsened somewhat. The debt ratio of all KOSDAQ-listed companies was 113.10%, up 8.7 percentage points (p) from the end of the previous year. Total liabilities rose 14.86% to 252.8829 trillion won, while total equity increased 6.95% to 223.5911 trillion won.
A total of 710 corporations posted a surplus, accounting for 55.99% of the total. That was a slight decrease from the previous year (741 corporations). Loss-making corporations numbered 558 (44.01%), up from the previous year (527).
Of the 710 corporations that achieved a surplus, 137 swung to a profit from a loss the previous term, and 573 recorded consecutive profits. Of the 558 that posted a loss, 168 turned to a loss from a profit the previous term, and 390 continued to post losses.
By industry, sales in IT services and medical and precision instruments rose 19.81% and 11.7%, respectively, from a year earlier. In contrast, sales in construction fell 7.11%. The growth rate of operating profit was highest in retail at 52.4%.
On a consolidation basis, sales and operating profit of corporations included in the KOSDAQ150 index increased 14.22% and 23.83%, respectively, from a year earlier. The operating margin of KOSDAQ150 corporations was 7.83%, 5.29 percentage points higher than that of non-constituents (2.54%), and improved by 0.61 percentage points from a year earlier.