Number of Software Companies with Over 500 Billion Won in Sales Decreased in 2014

Last year, only 15 companies turned over 500 billion won (US$431 million) in the software market, as opposed to 19 firms in 2013.

The Korea Software Industry Association (KOSA) announced the results of its study on the "2015 Software 100 Billion Won Club" at BIT Computer' office building in Seoul on July 28.

The number of companies which turned over more than 30 billion won (US$26 million) in 2014 was 178, up from 172 firms in 2013. However, total sales decreased from 4.34 trillion won (US$3.75 billion) to 4.3266 trillion won (US$3.7368 billion). On the other hand, the number of firms that reported over 500 billion won in sales fell to 15, meaning that large-scale companies recorded weaker performance.

Meanwhile, big increases in sales were mostly reported by large businesses. Large companies that posted over 800 billion won (US$691 million) in sales recorded an average sales increase of 244.2 billion won (US$210.9 million), medium companies with 5.1 billion won (US$4.4 million), and small and medium-sized enterprises 4.9 billion won (US$4.2 million). It indicates that only large companies recorded a huge increase in sales revenue.

An official at KOSA explained that local software firms reported last year’s sales volumes to be similar to that of 2013, even in a difficult environment. The number of employed people grew, though, which probably shows an upsurge of interest in the software industry.