Ties to top 10 chaebol prove lucrative

Listed companies affiliated with top conglomerates fared better this year despite the global economic downturn, with the operating profits of Samsung affiliates taking up half of the overall figures, data showed yesterday.

The combined revenue of 83 listed firms that are tied to the 10 largest conglomerates came to 508.3 trillion won ($469.1 billion) in the first nine months of fiscal 2012, up 6.2 percent from 478.6 trillion won the previous year, according to corporate information tracker Chaebul.com.

Their aggregate operating profit came in at 37.9 trillion won as of the end of September, up 6.9 percent over the cited period, the data showed. The tallied companies close their books in December and exclude financial and public firms.

The revenue of Samsung, Korea’s No. 1 chaebol, jumped 17.3 percent to 152.5 trillion won, with its operating profit spiking 64.4 percent to 17.5 trillion won in the same period. Its revenue and operating profit accounted for 30 percent and 46.2 percent of the total tallied by the 10 chaebol. Hyundai Motor Group, the country’s automobile giant, also saw its revenue gain 4.7 percent on-year to 100.5 trillion won, with its operating profit increasing 3 percent to 8.5 trillion won compared with a year ago.

Market analysts noted that the two conglomerates’ flagship companies, Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, both spared no effort to invest in their main products amid an overall rebound in global demand.

Meanwhile, LG Group, another tech-oriented chaebol, posted a 20 percent gain on-year in its operating profit over the cited nine months, the data showed, on the back of a turnaround in its flagship company, LG Electronics.

SK Group, Posco and Hyundai Heavy Industries logged a double-digit fall in their operating profits.

Yonhap