SEOUL– South Korean listed firms’ net profit edged up 0.67 percent in the first half this year from a year ago amid the fast-rising inflation, the bourse operator’s data showed Thursday.
The consolidated net profit of 603 companies listed on the main bourse totaled 85.81 trillion won (US$65.01 billion) in the January-June period, compared with a profit of 85.24 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange (KRX).
During the six-month period, their combined operating profit increased 16.68 percent on-year to 107.31 trillion won, with sales swelling 25.09 percent to 1,361.9 trillion won.
The tally excludes 75 KOSPI-listed firms that did not or were not required to submit regulatory filings.
Their first-half performance was largely led by top cap Samsung Electronics, which took up 11.38 percent of the total revenue.
Without Samsung, the firms’ combined net profit contracted 7.42 percent on-year in the first half, while operating profit and sales revenue increased 12.96 percent and 25.77 percent, respectively.
Their first-half business results came as the central bank has sought to tame the high-flying inflation via hawkish rate hikes.
In July, the Bank of Korea raised its key interest rate by 0.5 percentage point to 2.25 percent, the steepest and sixth increase in borrowing costs since August last year.
The net profit margin, or net profit to total sales, came to 5.25 percent in the first half, down from 7.13 percent a year ago. The ratio of operating income to revenue stood at 6.55 percent, also down from 7.3 percent a year earlier.
A total of 483 firms, or 80.1 percent, were in the black, down from 83.42 percent a year earlier. The 120 others, or 19.9 percent, suffered losses, up from 16.58 firms a year ago.
Companies listed on the secondary KOSDAQ, on the other hand, performed strong in the first half despite the rising borrowing costs and prices of energy and commodities.
The combined first-half net profit of 1,063 companies, excluding 127 that did not or were not required to submit regulatory filings, increased 5.5 percent on-year to 6.92 trillion won on a consolidated basis.
Operating profit swelled 16.74 percent to 8.7 trillion won, with sales revenue jumping 22.3 percent to 131.1 trillion won.
The net gain was led by robust gains in sectors related to secondary battery parts and semiconductors, the bourse operator said.
Their net profit margin decreased 0.84 percentage point on-year to 5.28 percent, and the rate of operating profit to sales declined 0.31 percentage point to 6.64 percent.
A total of 691 firms, or 65 percent, were in the black, while 35 percent posted net losses.
Source: Yonhap News Agency