Accra:Seoul South Korean companies experienced an improvement in profitability and debt management in 2025, bolstered by strong performances in sectors such as semiconductors and transportation, despite a slowdown in sales growth, as revealed by central bank data.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Bank of Korea (BOK) reported that corporate sales growth decelerated to 2.4 percent in 2025 from 3.7 percent in the previous year. The data reviewed approximately 983,000 non-financial firms subject to external audits.
Manufacturing businesses experienced a sales increase of 2.4 percent in 2025, a slowdown from the 4.6 percent growth in 2024. Sales in the non-manufacturing sector rose by 2.3 percent, down from a 2.9 percent increase the year before.
The ratio of local firms' combined operating profits to sales rose to 5.2 percent in 2025, an improvement from the previous year's 4.6 percent and marking the highest level since 2021. The average debt-to-equity ratio of these firms decreased to 116.2 percent from 119.9 percent in 2024, the lowest since 2019.
The data also highlighted that 42.9 percent of firms had an interest coverage ratio of less than 100 percent in 2025, slightly up from 42.8 percent the previous year, marking the highest level since data compilation began in 2013 by the BOK. The overall interest coverage ratio for all companies increased to 292.7 percent in 2025, up from 244.1 percent in 2024.