Operating profit at companies listed on the KOSPI rose about 30% from a year earlier last year. But excluding Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, both large-cap stocks by market capitalization, it actually fell.
On the 3rd, the Korea Exchange (KRX) analyzed 714 corporations among KOSPI-listed companies with December settlement of account, excluding financial firms, and found that their separate sales last year were 1,611.6843 trillion won. That was up 3.48% from a year earlier.
During the same period, operating profit and net profit came to 137.0477 trillion won and 137.9859 trillion won, up 29.55% and 35.71%, respectively.
However, the improvement in results was found to rely heavily on Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The two corporations accounted for 20.16% of total sales. Excluding them, sales (1,286.7892 trillion won) and operating profit (69.4367 trillion won) fell 0.46% and 3.69%, respectively, while only net profit (61.6104 trillion won) increased 1.91%.
The overall debt ratio of KOSPI-listed companies was 72.39%, down 3.37 percentage points (p) from the end of the previous year. Total liabilities increased by 53.3376 trillion won from 1,025.9460 trillion won to 1,079.2836 trillion won, but total equity rose by a larger margin from 1,354.2586 trillion won to 1,490.9934 trillion won (10.10 p). The number of corporations in the black based on net profit was 553, down eight from a year earlier.
By industry, operating profit rose in 10 sectors including electrical and electronics and construction, while it fell in 10 sectors including paper and lumber and nonmetallics.
On a consolidation basis, sales were 3,082.7609 trillion won, up 6.08% from a year earlier. Operating profit (244.7882 trillion won) and net profit (230.1175 trillion won) also rose 25.39% and 33.57%, respectively.
On a consolidation basis, even excluding Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, sales, operating profit, and net profit increased 4.45%, 10.76%, and 15.64%, respectively. The two corporations accounted for 13.97% (430.75 trillion won) of sales.
Meanwhile, operating profit and net profit at 42 financial companies increased 9.94% and 13.67%. In particular, securities firms' net profit surged 50.54% to 5.594 trillion won. Financial holding companies (24.5875 trillion won) recorded a 14.09% growth rate, and banks (2.7328 trillion won) recorded 2.55%.