South Korean companies listed on the junior KOSDAQ recorded lackluster performances in the third quarter (Q3) of this year due to economic recessions in China, the US and other countries. The KOSDAQ-listed companies saw declines in both their operating profits (OP) and net profits in quarterly comparison.
OPs of the 789 KOSDAQ-listed corporations which close books in December stood at 1.24 trillion won ($1.14 billion) in Q3, down 3.21 percent on-year, according to the analysis conducted and published by the Korea Exchange (KRX) and the Korea Listed Companies Association (KLCA) Thursday. In contrast, the corporations’ sales increased 5.71 percent to 22.86 trillion won and their net profits went up 11.43 percent to 885.1 billion won. But the performances failed to match those of Q2 as concerns lingered over the global economy. The companies’ OPs declined 13.96 percent, sales 2.08 percent and net profit 2.97 percent on-quarter.
The local businesses that recorded net profits numbered 584, accounting for 74.01 percent of the total listed companies. Of them, 94 companies swung to profits compared to the same period last year. 205 corporations, 25.99 percent of the total, were in red. The companies that remained mired in red stood at 117 and those who swung to black numbered 88.
OPs of the KOSDAQ-listed businesses between Q1 and Q3 this year dropped 0.63 percent on-year to 4.01 trillion won, while their sales and net profits increased 5.75 percent to 68.06 trillion won and 5.86 percent to 2.98 trillion won, respectively. Their average debt ratio was 82.44 percent in Q3, down 1.48 percentage points compared to that of late last year.
[Written by Eui-young Hwang - Sun-ah Kim / edited by Soyoung Chung]
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