Operating Profit of KOSPI Listed Companies Last Year 56 Trillion Won... Half Compared to Previous Year

Samsung Electronics' Poor Performance Has Major Impact
Mixed Fortunes in Finance Sector...Operating Profit Halved in 'Insurance', Securities Up 20%

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[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The operating profit (separate basis) of companies listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) market last year was recorded at 56 trillion won. This is half of the 112 trillion won recorded the previous year.

◆Operating Profit Halved Compared to Previous Year... Significant Impact from Samsung Electronics' Poor Performance= On the 1st, the Korea Exchange announced the '2019 Fiscal Year KOSPI Market Settlement Performance' containing this information. According to the exchange, the total sales on a separate basis of 684 listed companies with December fiscal year-end (excluding 78 companies out of a total of 762) last year amounted to 1,169 trillion won. This is a 3.33% decrease compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, operating profit dropped significantly. It was recorded at 56 trillion won, a 49.97% decrease compared to 112 trillion won the previous year. Net profit during the same period also decreased by 54.22% to 36 trillion won.

Provided by Korea Exchange

This appears to be due to the poor performance of Samsung Electronics, which holds the largest market capitalization. Last year, Samsung Electronics' operating profit was 27.7799 trillion won, a 52.83% decrease compared to 58.89 trillion won the previous year. The total sales (separate basis) of listed companies excluding Samsung Electronics were 1,014 trillion won, and operating profit was 42 trillion won. Sales decreased by 2.38% and operating profit by 38.62% compared to the previous year. Both sales and operating profit showed a smaller decline compared to when Samsung Electronics was included.

On a consolidated basis, performance also worsened compared to the previous year. The total sales on a consolidated basis of 583 listed companies with December fiscal year-end (excluding 69 companies out of 652) last year were 2,006 trillion won, and operating profit was 102 trillion won. Sales increased by 0.47% compared to the previous year, but operating profit decreased by 37.04%. Net profit was also recorded at 52 trillion won, a 52.82% decrease compared to the previous year.

◆Financial Sector Also 'Stalls'... Operating Profit Down 3.3% Compared to Previous Year= Among the 46 financial companies, excluding 4 companies with separate financial statements (Hanyang Securities, Yuhwa Securities, Lotte Insurance, Heungkuk Fire & Marine Insurance) and 1 new company (Woori Financial Group), the operating profit of 41 companies last year was recorded at 27.0964 trillion won. This is a 3.31% decrease compared to the previous year.

In particular, the insurance sector showed a marked decline. It recorded 3.835 trillion won, down 42.89% compared to the previous year. In contrast, the securities sector increased by 20.64% to 3.7018 trillion won during the same period.

Provided by Korea Exchange

◆10 Industries with Decreased Net Profit... Twice as Many as Those with Increases= Specifically, the number of industries with decreased net profit (separate basis) was 10, twice as many as those with increases. Net profit increased in the order of Textile and Apparel (141.12%), Machinery (109.94%), and Transportation Equipment (86.20%). Industries such as Food and Beverages (-75.42%), Electrical and Electronics (-69.66%), Medical Precision (-53.25%), Chemicals (-49.66%), Distribution (-33.41%), Paper and Wood (-30.68%), and Non-metallic Minerals (-26.61%) saw decreases in net profit. The Transportation and Warehousing, and Electricity and Gas industries continued to post losses as in the previous year.

On a consolidated basis, the number of industries with decreases was 9, more than the 6 industries with increases. Textile and Apparel (137.23%), Construction (78.64%), and Transportation Equipment (51.12%) increased, while Electrical and Electronics (-64.75%), Chemicals (-60.45%), Paper and Wood (-55.85%), Medical Precision (-55.54%), Telecommunications (-55.46%), Food and Beverages (-49.68%), Services (-46.66%), Distribution (-32.42%), and Non-metallic Minerals (-31.60%) decreased. Transportation and Warehousing, and Electricity and Gas industries continued to post losses.

Regarding sales (separate basis), the number of industries with increases and decreases was similar. Sales increased in 9 industries including Medical Precision (17.27%), Textile and Apparel (7.43%), and Pharmaceuticals (6.05%). Conversely, sales decreased in 8 industries including Electrical and Electronics (-10.93%), Construction (-8.59%), Non-metallic Minerals (-7.96%), Paper and Wood (-6.71%), and Chemicals (-5.26%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.