Well Performing
South Korea's KOSPI-listed companies enjoyed a record-breaking performance in the third quarter for three quarters in a row. As their ratio of operating profit and net profit to the net sales and debt to equity ratio also improved, they now have a stronger financial structure. In particular, KOSPI-listed companies maintained the performance improvement in the third quarter, excluding Samsung Electronics. It is meaningful in that various industries showed the improvement in performance.
According to the data from the Korea Exchange (KRX) on November 15, the combined sales of the nation's 525 KOSPI-listed companies, which submitted their consolidated financial statements and excludes financial companies and whose fiscal year ends in December, totaled 464 trillion won (US$419.15 billion) in the third quarter, up 3.53 percent from the previous quarter. Their combined operating profit and net profit amount to 43 trillion won (US$38.84 billion) and 32 trillion won (US$28.91 billion), respectively, up 10.11 percent and 11.01 percent from the previous quarter.
Accordingly, the performance of KOSPI-listed firms reached a record high for the three consecutive months from the first and second quarters this year. Their operating margin and net profit margin also grew 0.55 percent point and 0.47 percent point to 9.26 percent and 6.93 percent, respectively. The ratio of operating profit and net profit to the net sales in the second quarter slightly dropped from the previous quarter.
Samsung Electronics showed a slightly smaller influence. The combined sales of 525 KOSPI-listed companies, excluding Samsung Electronics, in the third quarter came to 401.87 trillion won (US$363.03 billion, while their combined operating profit amounted to 28.42 trillion won (US$25.67 billion). The figures are up 3.8 percent and 13.9 percent, respectively, from the previous quarter. They are even higher than 3.53 percent and 10.11 percent of their growth rate of sales and operating profit, including Samsung Electronics, over the same period. Their combined net profit, excluding Samsung Electronics, totaled 20.94 trillion won (US$18.92 billion), up 17 percent from the previous quarter. The figure is also higher than 11.01 percent of the rate of their net profit increases, including Samsung Electronics.
Samsung Electronics now has a lower share of the total results. In the second quarter, the company accounted for 13.61 percent of the combined sales of KOSPI-listed companies, 36.06 percent of operating profit and 38.18 percent of net profit. But, the figures dropped to 13.37 percent, 33.84 percent and 34.83 percent, respectively, in the third quarter. Considering the results of the first quarter, however, Samsung Electronics still had a high share of the total performance. The company took up 11.2 percent of the combined sales, 25.45 percent of operating profit and 24.29 percent of net profit in the first quarter. Stock experts said, “It will take time for the performance improvement to spread to more diverse industries and businesses.”