The Korea Exchange in Yoido, Seoul South Korea's companies listed on the main stock exchange Kospi in this year's third quarter saw operating profit drop 26% from the same period last year and over 30% from the second quarter this year.
The Korea Exchange and Korea Listed Companies Council on Wednesday released the settlement results of listed companies in the third quarter showing a consolidated operating profit of a combined 39.3 trillion won ($29.4 billion). The figure was down 26% from the same quarter last year and 30.3% lower from the second quarter this year.
The operating profit margin of listed companies fell from 9% to 5.4% year on year, and that over this year's first three quarters fell from 8.6% to 7%.
The consolidated operating profit of companies listed on the over-the-counter Kosdaq market rose 1.1% in the third quarter year on year, but declined 9.11% from the second this year.
Experts say prospects for corporate earnings are not looking good in the fourth quarter as well as next year. FnGuide, a domestic corporate database and online information provider, said brokerage projections for the operating profits of 227 listed companies were a combined 36.5 trillion won in the final quarter, down 10.6% from the forecast of 40.8 trillion won released just a month ago and considerably lower than 43.5 trillion won earned in the same quarter last year.
Hwang Seung-taek, research center head of Hana Securities, said, "Considering the rising cost of capital supply, profits next year are expected to decline 7%-8% from this year's."
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