COVID-19 Takes Its Toll
Financial data provider FnGuide announced on May 3 that 138 major listed companies’ Q2 operating profit is estimated at 19,971.9 billion won. The figure is 26.71 percent lower than the estimate of three months ago and 19.12 percent lower than the estimate of the previous month. For reference, the companies’ operating profit was 22,315.5 billion won in the same period of the previous year.
The Q2 sales and net profit estimates of the same companies are 318,913.1 billion won and 14,551.1 billion won, respectively. The figures are 8.44 percent and 17.5 percent lower than the estimates of the previous month, respectively. Year on year, the decrements are 6.32 percent and 2.86 percent. Samsung Electronics’ Q2 operating profit estimate is 7,195.9 billion won, down 13 percent from what was estimated last month.
South Korean companies’ Q2 business performance is likely to be poor due to the export impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, the coronavirus dropped South Korea’s exports by 24.3 percent year on year to US$36.92 billion and its average daily exports by 17.4 percent. That month, the country posted a trade deficit of US$950 million, the first deficit in 99 months.