S.Korean Industrial Companies Post Profit Fall In Q1 On Global Economic Slump

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published May 17, 2019 | 01:10 PM

SEOUL, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th May, 2019 ) :South Korean industrial companies posted a profit fall in the first quarter on the global economic slump, caused by the U.S protectionist moves, the bourse operator data showed Friday.

According to Korea Exchange, operating profit of 573 companies, listed on the main bourse, dropped 36.9 percent over the year to 27.8 trillion won (23.3 billion U.S. Dollars) in the January-March quarter. It excluded earnings of 65 financial firms.

Revenue of the listed companies inched up 0.2 percent to 484.

3 trillion won (405.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the quarter, but net income tumbled 38.8 percent to 20.9 trillion won (17.5 billion U.S. dollars).

It was attributed to weak export, caused by the U.S. protectionist move leading to global trade friction. The country's export continued to decline for five months through April.

Among the total, a quarter of the listed companies logged a net loss in the March quarter.

The debt ratio for the listed firms went up 6.8 percentage points from three months earlier to 112.4 percent in the quarter.