KOSDAQ Listed Companies See Operating Profit Decline in Q3 Due to Economic Downturn

Operating Profit of 3.9939 Trillion KRW in Q3... 9% Decrease from Previous Quarter

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] In the third quarter, KOSDAQ-listed companies showed improved performance mainly in the IT sector, but the overall operating profit declined by nearly 10% compared to the previous quarter.

According to the "KOSDAQ Market December Fiscal Year 2022 Third Quarter Financial Results" announced by the Korea Exchange on the 16th, the total operating profit on a consolidated basis for 1,070 KOSDAQ-listed companies in the third quarter was 3.9939 trillion KRW, down 9.11% from the second quarter. This reflects the global economic downturn caused by interest rate hikes, exchange rate increases, and rising prices of goods and raw materials.

The total sales revenue increased by 2% to 69.0965 trillion KRW. The operating profit margin based on sales was 5.78%, and the net profit margin based on sales was 4.93%, down 0.71 percentage points and 0.36 percentage points respectively compared to the same period last year. Although there are 1,204 companies with December fiscal year-ends, 134 companies were excluded from the aggregation due to non-submission of reports, delisting, or SPAC mergers.

Looking at the cumulative results from the first to the third quarter, overall operating profit increased compared to the previous year thanks to strong performance in the first half. The cumulative operating profit until the third quarter totaled 12.5178 trillion KRW, up 11.25% compared to the same period last year. Total sales revenue increased by 22.12% to 198.8425 trillion KRW.

By industry, the IT sector and manufacturing sector saw slight increases in third-quarter profits, while other service sectors such as entertainment and culture (-11%) and transportation (-17%) experienced declines. The IT sector (386 companies) recorded an operating profit of 1.7165 trillion KRW, a 1.57% increase from a year earlier. Specifically, the IT hardware sector (239 companies) posted a third-quarter operating profit of 1.3351 trillion KRW, up 20.82% year-on-year. This was due to increases in information devices (181%), IT components (43%), telecommunications equipment (17%), and semiconductors (7%). On the other hand, the IT software & services sector (134 companies) saw operating profit decrease by 29% to 302.4 billion KRW, and the telecommunications and broadcasting services sector dropped 50% to 76.6 billion KRW.

The manufacturing sector (488 companies) recorded a total profit of 1.364 trillion KRW, a 6% increase. By segment, the transportation equipment and parts sector recorded 128.5 billion KRW, up 226%, and the general electrical and electronics sector increased by 145% to 231.2 billion KRW. Additionally, profits in machinery equipment (79%), metals (38%), textiles and apparel (35%), and chemicals (11%) also showed growth.

Among KOSDAQ-listed companies, 712 companies turned profitable based on third-quarter net income, accounting for 66.54% of the total. Those recording losses numbered 358 companies, or 33.46%. Based on cumulative net income from the first to the third quarter, 719 companies were profitable, representing 67.2%, while 351 companies, or 32.8%, posted losses.

Meanwhile, at the end of the third quarter, the debt ratio of KOSDAQ-listed companies was 108.68%, up 1.92 percentage points compared to the end of last year. Total assets amounted to 389.477 trillion KRW, an increase of 10.67% from 351.9261 trillion KRW at the end of last year.

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