A survey found that the growth of listed middle-market companies slowed in the second quarter of this year compared with a year earlier.
According to the results of the "Second-quarter 2025 management analysis of listed middle-market companies" released by the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea (FOMEK) on the 16th, the sales growth rate and total asset growth rate, key growth indicators for listed middle-market companies, were 0.9% and 2.1%, respectively. Both fell by 2.8 percentage points and 4.4 percentage points from a year earlier.
The manufacturing sector's sales growth rate was tallied at 1.4%, down 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier, and the total asset growth rate also stayed at 2.8%, down 4.4 percentage points, due to declines in cash and cash equivalents (237.88 billion won) and accounts receivable (181.7 billion won). In the non-manufacturing sector, the sales growth rate fell by 7.9 percentage points, and the total asset growth rate also decreased by 4.1 percentage points to 0.8%.
The analysis was based on financial information from the second quarter of last year through the second quarter of 2025 for 992 listed middle-market companies with 2023 settlement of account results.
Profitability indicators also trended downward. The operating margin on sales for listed middle-market companies was 6.2%, down 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier.
Interest and dividends revenue decreased, and foreign exchange transaction gains shrank due to exchange rate fluctuations. Foreign exchange gains are revenue that corporations holding foreign currency assets obtain when the exchange rate rises. Foreign exchange transaction gains fell by 223.2 billion won, and foreign currency translation gains decreased by 474.7 billion won. The pre-tax net profit margin on sales was 6.1%, down 2.1 percentage points.
In manufacturing, the operating margin on sales rose 0.1 percentage point to 5.9%, but the pre-tax net profit margin on sales fell 2.1 percentage points to 5.6%. In non-manufacturing, the figures were 7.1% and 7.4%, down 0.4 percentage point and 2.0 percentage points, respectively, from a year earlier.
The debt ratio fell 1.1 percentage points to 65.4%, showing a relative improvement in financial soundness. The dependence on borrowing fund rose 0.1 percentage point to 13.4%. The debt ratio was 66.6% in manufacturing and 63.0% in non-manufacturing. Dependence on borrowing fund was 13.8% in manufacturing and 12.5% in non-manufacturing.
A FOMEK official said, "As capital, including retained earnings, increased in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing, the debt ratio improved," but added, "As short- and long-term borrowings increased within the debt composition, the stability of the financial structure in non-manufacturing appears to have weakened somewhat."
Lee Ho-jun, FOMEK's executive vice chair, said, "In a situation where profitability and growth are weakening, the phenomenon of listed middle-market companies reducing their debt ratios to strengthen financial soundness reveals concerns about an unstable economic environment, including U.S. tariff negotiations whose outcomes are hard to gauge."
He added, "By putting full effort into practical diplomacy to use APEC as an opportunity to firmly cement stability in the trade and commerce environment, we must at the same time drive investment and innovation through financial support, such as setting up a dedicated Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT) account for middle-market companies and expanding guarantee limits."