Combined operating profit of top 500 S. Korean firms jumps 66 pc in 2024

Seoul:  The combined operating profit of South Korea’s top 500 companies surged 66 per cent from a year earlier in 2024, driven largely by a rebound in the global semiconductor market, a report showed on Wednesday.

According to the report from corporate tracker CEO Score, the total operating profit of the top 500 firms reached 183.7 trillion won ($125.3 billion) in 2024, up from 110.6 trillion won the previous year, reports Yonhap news agency.

The companies’ combined annual sales rose 5.8 percent to 2,523 trillion won from 2,384 trillion won in 2023. Net profit jumped 74.5 percent over the same period.

The sharp rise in operating profit was led mainly by the strong performance from chipmakers SK hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. amid robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory products.

SK hynix recorded the largest growth, swinging to an operating profit of 23.5 trillion won from a 7.7 trillion-won loss in 2023, marking a gain of over 31.2 trillion won.

The company benefited from soaring demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM), a key component for AI semiconductors.

Samsung Electronics posted the second-largest increase, with its operating profit rising by 26.2 trillion won on the back of improved business conditions in the sector, according to CEO Score.

Other major contributors to the combined operating profit growth included Korea Electric Power Corp., whose profit increased by 12.9 trillion won, followed by HMM Co. with a 2.9 trillion-won rise, LG Display Co. with 1.9 trillion won and Korea Gas Corp. with 1.5 trillion won.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s business sentiment remains pessimistic for April, a poll showed on Wednesday, amid growing uncertainties associated with global trade.

The business survey index (BSI) of the country’s top 600 companies by sales stood at 88 for next month, according to the monthly poll by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI).

A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark means the opposite. The index has remained below 100 for 37 consecutive months since April 2022.

The BSI for the manufacturing sector came to 92 for April, while the index for non-manufacturing was recorded at 84.2.

—IANS