Publicly Listed Mid-sized Companies' Q3 Operating Profit Down 6%... Contrast with Large Corporations

CEO Score, Analysis of 488 Companies
Sales Increased by 3.5% While Operating Profit Decreased by 6%

Sales of listed mid-sized companies in the third quarter of this year slightly increased compared to the same period last year, but operating profit decreased, worsening profitability.

On the 20th, CEO Score, a corporate data research institute, surveyed the third-quarter performance of 488 companies that submitted quarterly reports among the top 500 listed mid-sized companies in Korea by sales, and the results showed this trend.

The total sales of the surveyed companies in the third quarter amounted to 57.8686 trillion KRW, a 3.5% increase compared to the third quarter of last year, while operating profit totaled 2.8806 trillion KRW, a 6% decrease. This contrasts with the top 500 large corporations, whose total sales and operating profit in the third quarter increased by 4.4% and 33.9%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

CEO Score analyzed, "While large corporations improved their performance as export-driven sectors such as semiconductors recovered, mid-sized companies, which are relatively more focused on domestic sectors, experienced a decline in profitability due to the impact of economic recession and rising prices."

Among the surveyed companies, the highest operating profit in the third quarter was recorded by Samyang Foods. Samyang Foods' operating profit in the third quarter was 87.3 billion KRW, a 101% increase from 43.4 billion KRW in the third quarter of last year. Following were DoubleU Games (59.5 billion KRW), Megastudy Education (54.3 billion KRW), Jusung Engineering (52.2 billion KRW), Wemade (51.8 billion KRW), JYP Entertainment (48.4 billion KRW), JS Corporation (42.8 billion KRW), Soulbrain (39.7 billion KRW), and Hansol Chemical (37.0 billion KRW) in order of operating profit size.

On the other hand, the company with the largest operating loss in the third quarter was Ajou Steel, which posted a deficit of 27.3 billion KRW. Other companies recording losses included Sambu Construction (-26.8 billion KRW), JNTC (-25.2 billion KRW), WCP (-19.4 billion KRW), Solus Advanced Materials (-18.7 billion KRW), and Wonik P&E (-16.2 billion KRW).

The company with the largest increase in operating profit compared to the third quarter of last year was Jusung Engineering, whose operating profit surged by 744.1% to 52.2 billion KRW from 6.2 billion KRW in the same period last year. Other companies with significant increases in operating profit included Samyang Foods, Seojin System (30.1 billion KRW, a 957.9% increase), PNT (25.1 billion KRW, a 426.9% increase), Lotte Tour Development (21.8 billion KRW, a 6,418.5% increase), and Mico (21.5 billion KRW, a 389.4% increase).

Meanwhile, among the top 500 listed mid-sized companies, the industry with the largest increase in operating profit was IT Electrical and Electronics (137.9 billion KRW), followed by Food and Beverage (62.1 billion KRW), Petrochemicals (37.2 billion KRW), Medical Devices (27.4 billion KRW), Pharmaceuticals and Bio (24.8 billion KRW), Transportation (19.8 billion KRW), Distribution (16.6 billion KRW), Automotive and Parts (-58.6 billion KRW), Consumer Goods (-61.6 billion KRW), Shipbuilding, Machinery, and Equipment (-65.8 billion KRW), Services (-79.1 billion KRW), Construction and Building Materials (-97.8 billion KRW), and Steel, Metals, and Non-metals (-146.4 billion KRW).

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