KOSPI Companies' 1Q Operating Profit 19 Trillion Won... 31% Decrease YoY

Operating Profit of 19 Trillion Won... Approximately 9 Trillion Won Decrease Compared to the Same Period Last Year

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[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The operating profit of companies listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) market in the first quarter of this year decreased by nearly 9 trillion won compared to last year.

The Korea Exchange announced the 'KOSPI Listed Companies 2020 Q1 Financial Results' containing this information on the 19th. According to the announcement, the consolidated sales of 592 KOSPI-listed companies with December fiscal year-end that submitted consolidated financial statements amounted to 495.2735 trillion won in the first quarter, an increase of 0.87% (4.2885 trillion won) compared to the same period last year. However, operating profit decreased by 31.2% (8.8328 trillion won) during the same period to 19.4772 trillion won. Net profit also dropped by 47.8% (10.1032 trillion won) to 11.0336 trillion won, nearly half of the previous year's figure. The debt ratio increased by 4.58 percentage points from 112.96% in the previous quarter to 117.54%.

Excluding Samsung Electronics, the 'big brother' of the domestic stock market, the decline in performance was even greater. The consolidated operating profit of companies excluding Samsung Electronics in the first quarter decreased by 41% (9.0468 trillion won) compared to the same period last year, amounting to 13.0299 trillion won. Net profit was recorded at 6.1487 trillion won, down 61.8% (9.9445 trillion won). Sales increased by 0.31% to 439.9484 trillion won compared to the first quarter of last year.

By industry, sales increased in eight sectors: pharmaceuticals (16.62%), food and beverages (9.07%), transportation equipment (6.53%), telecommunications (3.52%), construction (3.29%), electrical and electronics (3.22%), machinery (1.88%), and services (1.47%). Conversely, sales decreased in nine sectors: medical precision (-12.18%), steel and metals (-7.05%), textiles and apparel (-6.61%), transportation and warehousing (-5.66%), distribution (-4.86%), electricity and gas (-4.37%), non-metallic minerals (-1.99%), paper and wood (-1.65%), and chemicals (-0.17%).

Meanwhile, 411 companies (69.43%) recorded net profit in the black on a consolidated basis, while 181 companies (30.57%) posted losses.

In the financial sector, some items such as operating revenue were not disclosed and were analyzed separately. The analysis showed that among 46 financial companies, excluding five companies with individual financial statements (Dongyang Life Insurance, Lotte Insurance, Yuha Securities, Hanyang Securities, Heungkuk Fire & Marine Insurance), 41 companies recorded consolidated operating profit of 7.2 trillion won in the first quarter. This was a decrease of 16.53% (1.4 trillion won) compared to the same period last year. Net profit during the same period also decreased by 19.57% (1.3 trillion won) to 5.3 trillion won.

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