"Companies with 1900% Sales Growth"…A Look at Last Year's Venture Companies with Over 100 Billion Won in Sales

Ministry of SMEs and Startups Announces Management Status Survey of 633 'Venture 100 Billion Won Companies'
Medical and IT Companies Benefiting from COVID-19 Drive Sales and Employment Growth
SD Biosensor and Seegene Enter 1 Trillion Won Sales Companies
Total Sales Increased by 10.9%... Performance Higher than Large and Mid-sized Companies

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] As of last year, a total of 633 venture companies with sales exceeding 100 billion KRW were surveyed. The performance of companies in the medical, pharmaceutical, and IT sectors, which grew by seizing opportunities during COVID-19, stood out. The total sales of venture companies with sales over 100 billion KRW last year amounted to 151 trillion KRW, ranking fourth in the business world after SK among large corporations.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the results of the "2020 Venture 100 Billion KRW Companies Survey" on the 21st, analyzing employment, sales, and export status of 633 venture companies with sales exceeding 100 billion KRW as of the end of last year.

62 Newly Entered, 46 Dropped Out... Average 17.5 Years to Reach 100 Billion KRW in Sales

Last year, the number of venture companies with sales over 100 billion KRW increased by 16 from 617 at the end of 2019 to 633. Among them, 62 companies achieved sales of 100 billion KRW for the first time last year, while 46 companies fell below 100 billion KRW in sales.

The newly entered companies were most numerous in the textile and other manufacturing sectors, including mask manufacturing companies, with 16 companies. The medical and pharmaceutical sectors related to COVID-19 diagnostics increased by 11 companies. Companies excluded from the venture 100 billion KRW group were mostly in the machinery, automobile, and metal sectors, with 14 companies.

There were 17 venture companies with sales exceeding 1 trillion KRW. The companies that joined the 1 trillion KRW club for the first time were SD Biosensor (sales of 1.4779 trillion KRW) and Seegene (sales of 1.0686 trillion KRW), both producing COVID-19 diagnostic kits.

Other companies in the 1 trillion KRW club include Naver, Coway, NCSoft, Nexon Korea, Kakao, Celltrion, Sungwoo Hitech, Woowa Brothers, eBay Korea, Deutsch Motors, and MCNEX.

The average time taken to reach 100 billion KRW in sales since founding was 17.5 years. By region (headquarters basis), the venture 100 billion KRW companies were most concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area with 403 companies (63.8%), followed by Chungcheong region with 90 companies (14.2%), Gyeongnam region with 68 companies (10.8%), and Gyeongbuk region with 34 companies (5.4%).

Number of Employees Second in Business World After Samsung... Sales Rank Fourth

The total number of employees in venture companies with sales over 100 billion KRW increased by 8,668 from the previous year to 242,000, ranking second in the business world after Samsung (261,000). The average number of employees per company was 387.9. This analysis was based on 624 companies with December fiscal year-end among the 633 companies.

By industry, software development and IT-based service sectors increased by 94.6 employees (19.2%), and medical and pharmaceutical sectors increased by 54.6 employees (10.6%), showing the highest employment growth rates. The companies with the largest employment increases were Coway (1,546 employees) and Interpark (1,125 employees).

The total sales of 624 companies with fiscal year-end last year increased by 15 trillion KRW from the previous year to 151 trillion KRW. Compared to large corporations, this ranks fourth in the business world after SK. While Samsung, SK, and LG saw decreases in sales, the total sales of venture 100 billion KRW companies increased by 10.9%, showing strong growth.

By industry, medical and pharmaceutical sectors showed the highest increase in sales with 126.9 billion KRW (77.7%) compared to the previous year, followed by software development and IT-based services (86 billion KRW, 29.7%), and information and communication broadcasting services (39.4 billion KRW, 10.9%).

The company with the largest sales increase was SD Biosensor, a COVID-19 diagnostic kit manufacturer, which increased by 1.4042 trillion KRW (1,905%) compared to the previous year. In September last year, it received emergency approval from the WHO for the world's first diagnostic kit, leading to large-scale domestic and international orders.

The second was Seegene, a COVID-19 diagnostic reagent manufacturer, with an increase of 971.4 billion KRW.

In terms of sales growth rate, Dobu Mask, a mask manufacturer, ranked first with a 3,475% increase, and Noble Bio, a COVID specimen collection kit manufacturer, ranked second with 3,012%.

High Growth Potential and Export Contribution... Ministry of SMEs and Startups "Will Supplement and Develop Venture Policies"

Venture companies with sales over 100 billion KRW demonstrated excellence in management performance. While large corporations (-4.6%) and mid-sized companies (-3.5%) saw decreases in sales, the average sales growth rate of venture 100 billion KRW companies was 10.9%, showing high growth potential.

The operating profit margin, calculated by dividing net profit by sales, was also 7.3%, more than twice that of large corporations (3.0%) and mid-sized companies (3.7%). The company with the highest operating profit margin was EcoPro, a secondary battery material manufacturer, with 177.8%, followed by Abbott Korea Diagnostics, a diagnostic reagent kit manufacturer, with 90.1%.

The total export amount of venture 100 billion KRW companies was approximately 33 trillion KRW (an average of about 67.4 billion KRW per company). Among them, 484 companies were exporters, accounting for only 0.5% of domestic exporters (98,771 companies), but 5.5% of the domestic export scale (594.8 trillion KRW). By industry, the medical and pharmaceutical sector had the highest average export amount of 167.8 billion KRW.

The ratio of R&D expenses to sales for venture 100 billion KRW companies was 3.1%, higher than large corporations (1.8%) and mid-sized companies (1.2%). Especially compared to the average R&D expense ratio of small companies at 0.8%, it was nearly four times higher.

Park Yong-soon, Director of Venture Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "It is important to create policies that provide the foundation for startups and venture companies to grow into unicorns and venture companies with sales over 100 billion KRW. We will continuously supplement and develop venture company and venture investment policies."

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