Increasing Net Profit amid Slow Sales
It has been found that the sales of KOSPI-listed companies were stagnant but their net profits increased by more than 20% in the first half of this year as a result of corporate restructuring and a rise in foreign exchange rate.
According to the Korea Exchange and the Korea Listed Companies Association, 514 KOSPI-listed and non-financial companies in the manufacturing, construction and service sectors that have a fiscal year ending in December posted a total of 804.5504 trillion won in sales in the first half of this year, up 0.64% from a year ago. When Samsung Electronics, which accounts for the largest portion, is excluded, their combined sales edged up by merely 0.01% during the period.
In contrast, their combined operating profit and net profit jumped by 14.44% and 20.17% to 62.914 trillion won and 47.1978 trillion won, respectively. Their operating profit-to-sales ratio increased 0.85 percentage points to 6.83%, too.
In the meantime, KOSDAQ-listed companies achieved a significant improvement in sales revenue and profit alike. The sales of 683 listed on the KOSDAQ stock exchange and having a fiscal year ending in December totaled 65.8924 trillion won in the first half, up 4.33% from a year earlier. Their operating and net profits rose 5.9% and 4.32% to 3.6145 trillion won and 2.5372 trillion won, respectively.