Fall of Empire?
The Samsung Group has suffered an earnings shock greater than the other two top three Korean business groups, that is, the Hyundai Motor and LG Groups, in the first quarter of this year. Approximately half of the subsidiaries of the Samsung Group posted earnings much less than previously expected during the period.
According to market researcher FnGuide, 10 out of the 15 subsidiaries of the Samsung Group that are listed on the Korean stock exchange and released their tentative earnings for the first quarter of 2015 on May 7 with performance estimates present in at least three securities firms recorded a performance exceeded by market estimates in that quarter. In particular, the gap between the profit estimates and the actual performance exceeded 10 percent for seven out of the 10, including Cheil Industries and Samsung SDI. Specifically, the gaps amounted to 85.91 percent for Cheil Industries and 77.09 percent for Samsung SDI.
In the Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s provisional quarterly profit stood at 200.6 billion won (US$182.9 million), 12.05 percent short of market expectations, and Hyundai Rotem turned to a loss, contrary to previous predictions.
In the LG Group, nine subsidiaries have announced their tentative earnings for that quarter. LG Hausys and LG Corporation gave a shock with their gaps reaching 20.34 percent and 34.07 percent, respectively.