SEOUL, April 15 (AJP) - South Korea's top 1,000 listed companies saw their operating profits increase sharply last year, reaching the highest level since 2000, according to a report released by the Korea CXO Institute on Wednesday.
Their combined operating profit stood at 189.23 trillion Korean won (about US$126.15 billion), up more than 40 trillion won or 27.7 percent, from 148.28 trillion won a year earlier, as the number of companies posting over 1 trillion won in operating profit hit a record 34.
Some nine firms including Hanwha Ocean, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, KT and SK Innovation, were newly added, while four companies including POSCO Holdings and SK Telecom dropped off the list.
In particular, seven companies saw operating profit grow by more than 100 percent, with SK Innovation posting a 453.5 percent rise and Hanwha Ocean climbing 447.5 percent.
The overall increase was largely led by improved results at SK hynix and Samsung Electronics. Excluding these two semiconductor giants, operating profits for the rest also rose 6.6 percent from a year earlier.
Buoyed by both revenue and operating profit hitting record highs, their average operating margin came in at around 9 percent, marking only the third time it has reached that level, after 2004 and 2018.
By company, SK hynix kept the No. 1 spot in operating profit for a second straight year, posting 44 trillion won, up from 21.33 trillion won a year earlier. The memory chip maker also ranked first in net profit for the first time with 42.69 trillion won, surpassing rival Samsung Electronics' 33.69 trillion won.
"The combined operating profit of the top 1,000 listed companies is expected to exceed 200 trillion won this year as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are projected to post 'record-high' operating profits," said Oh Il-seon, head of the corporate tracker.
The figures were compiled based on their annual revenues from 2000 to 2025 and other financial data.
Their combined operating profit stood at 189.23 trillion Korean won (about US$126.15 billion), up more than 40 trillion won or 27.7 percent, from 148.28 trillion won a year earlier, as the number of companies posting over 1 trillion won in operating profit hit a record 34.
Some nine firms including Hanwha Ocean, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, KT and SK Innovation, were newly added, while four companies including POSCO Holdings and SK Telecom dropped off the list.
In particular, seven companies saw operating profit grow by more than 100 percent, with SK Innovation posting a 453.5 percent rise and Hanwha Ocean climbing 447.5 percent.
The overall increase was largely led by improved results at SK hynix and Samsung Electronics. Excluding these two semiconductor giants, operating profits for the rest also rose 6.6 percent from a year earlier.
Buoyed by both revenue and operating profit hitting record highs, their average operating margin came in at around 9 percent, marking only the third time it has reached that level, after 2004 and 2018.
By company, SK hynix kept the No. 1 spot in operating profit for a second straight year, posting 44 trillion won, up from 21.33 trillion won a year earlier. The memory chip maker also ranked first in net profit for the first time with 42.69 trillion won, surpassing rival Samsung Electronics' 33.69 trillion won.
"The combined operating profit of the top 1,000 listed companies is expected to exceed 200 trillion won this year as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are projected to post 'record-high' operating profits," said Oh Il-seon, head of the corporate tracker.
The figures were compiled based on their annual revenues from 2000 to 2025 and other financial data.
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