In the first quarter of this year, operating profit for corporations listed on the Korea Exchange's KOSPI jumped sharply, buoyed by higher profits at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
On the 19th, the Korea Exchange (KRX) analyzed 727 corporations among KOSPI companies with December settlement of account, excluding financial firms, and found their separate first-quarter sales at 496 trillion won and operating profit at 109 trillion won. Those figures rose 23.29% and 226.4%, respectively, from a year earlier.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix contributed significantly to the improvement. The two corporations posted 157 trillion won in sales, accounting for 31.73% of total sales. Operating profit came to 84 trillion won, or 77% of the total.
However, sales and operating profit for corporations excluding Samsung Electronics and SK hynix also increased. This year, settlement of account corporations excluding the two companies recorded 339 trillion won in sales and 25.9 trillion won in operating profit, up 2.36% and 2.05%, respectively, from a year earlier.
The number of profitable corporations also increased on the KOSPI. By net profit, 590 corporations (81.16%) were in the black, up 8 corporations (1.1%) from a year earlier. Of them, 534 corporations (73.45%) remained profitable, while 56 corporations (7.7%) turned to profit.
By industry, 12 sectors, including electrical and electronics and nonmetallics, saw operating profit increase, while 8 sectors, including entertainment and culture and paper and wood, saw operating profit decline.
On a consolidation basis, sales reached 927 trillion won and operating profit 156 trillion won, up 19.49% and 175.83%, respectively, from a year earlier. Likewise, consolidation results excluding Samsung Electronics and SK hynix came to 741 trillion won in sales and 61 trillion won in operating profit, up 9.07% and 44.49%, respectively, from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, within financials excluding banks, operating profit rose year over year by 141.9% for securities, 25.12% for insurance, and 17.97% for financial holding companies.