KOSDAQ Rises Above COVID-19... 3Q Operating Profit Up 31% YoY to 3.5 Trillion Won

Net Profit Up 51.7% QoQ
IT Sector Operating Profit Hits Record High... Total 1.4 Trillion Won, Up 11% from Q3 Last Year
Distribution and Construction Sectors Show Strong Growth... Operating Profit Over 100% Increase YoY

Consolidated Q3 earnings of 958 KOSDAQ-listed companies this year (Provided by Korea Exchange)

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The consolidated operating profit of KOSDAQ-listed companies for the third quarter of this year exceeded 3.5 trillion KRW, marking an increase of about 31% compared to the same period last year. This indicates a gradual recovery from the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

On the 18th, the Korea Exchange announced that it had analyzed the third-quarter financial results of KOSDAQ market companies with December fiscal year-ends and obtained these results. According to the analysis, among 1,088 KOSDAQ companies with December fiscal year-ends, 130 companies were excluded due to non-submission of reports, delisting, or changes in fiscal year-end, leaving 958 companies. Their consolidated sales for the third quarter of this year amounted to 50.674 trillion KRW, and operating profit was 3.5461 trillion KRW. These figures represent increases of 5.28% and 31.40%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Net profit for the period also rose by 4.86% to 2.1505 trillion KRW during the same period.

Compared to the previous quarter, operating profit and net profit increased by 15.95% and 51.70%, respectively. The operating profit margin (7.00%) rose by 0.32 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, and the net profit margin (4.41%) increased by 1.20 percentage points.

Cumulatively through the third quarter, sales reached 142.819 trillion KRW, and operating profit was 8.262 trillion KRW. These represent increases of 2.18% and 5.47%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. However, net profit for the period decreased by 14.98% to 4.841 trillion KRW during the same period. As of the end of the third quarter, the debt ratio stood at 112.55%, up 7.89 percentage points from the end of last year.

By industry, growth was prominent in the distribution and construction sectors. The distribution sector’s operating profit for the third quarter on a consolidated basis was 607 billion KRW, an increase of 166.18% compared to the third quarter of last year. The construction sector’s operating profit also rose by 105.40% to 68.9 billion KRW during the same period.

The industry with the largest operating profit was the Information Technology (IT) sector. It recorded 1.4288 trillion KRW, an increase of 11.22% compared to the same period last year. It also showed the largest increase compared to the previous quarter. Sales and net profit increased by 17.24% and 89.25%, respectively, outperforming the non-IT sectors’ sales growth (6.79%) and net profit growth (32.43%) during the same period.

Profit and Loss Status of 958 KOSDAQ Listed Companies with December Fiscal Year-End (Provided by Korea Exchange)

Meanwhile, among the 958 companies analyzed, 591 (61.69%) posted profits. Conversely, 367 companies (38.31%) recorded losses. A total of 458 companies (47.81%) maintained profits from the previous quarter. 133 companies (13.88%) turned from losses in the previous quarter to profits. 271 companies (28.29%) recorded losses as in the previous quarter, and 96 companies (10.02%) shifted from profits in the previous quarter to losses this quarter.

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