Korea's listed companies see 16% fall in operating profit, market tracker estimates

Containers are loaded and unloaded at Incheon New Port on Jan. 1. [NEWS1]

Listed companies in Korea are estimated to have shrunk 16 percent on-year in their total operating incomes in 2023, mainly due to weak chip demand, according to market tracker FnGuide on Monday.

The combined operating income of 247 listed firms is estimated to be 297.9 trillion won ($226 billion) last year, compared with 356.2 trillion won a year earlier, according to FnGuide.

The latest estimate is down 25 percent from their forecast made at the start of last year.

The companies cover corporations for which three or more securities companies have put forward earnings projections.

"Their 2023 total operating profit probably shrank from the previous year as the semiconductor industry remained in the doldrums," NH Investment & Securities analyst Na Jeong-hwan said.

The operating income of top-cap and chip-giant Samsung Electronics is estimated to fall 74 percent to 7.4 trillion won over the cited period.

The operating loss of another chip giant, SK hynix, is estimated at 8.4 trillion won last year, about three times that of 2022.

In contrast, the operating incomes of automaker Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia are estimated to have surged 53 percent and 56 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the combined operating income of 253 listed firms is forecast to jump 58 percent on-year to 468.8 trillion won in 2024 on the back of the brisk chip and rechargeable battery sectors.

Samsung Electronics is predicted to see its operating income rise nearly four times to 34.3 trillion won, with SK hynix switching to a profit of 8.7 trillion won.

However, the operating profits of Hyundai Motor and Kia are both projected to decline 4 percent in 2024 from last year, according to FnGuide.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]