This year's first-half earnings for KOSPI and KOSDAQ-listed companies have all improved significantly. In both markets, semiconductor and AI (artificial intelligence) stocks led the earnings growth trend. The impact of the supercycle was substantial. In the case of KOSPI, net profits of listed companies excluding major semiconductor firms more than doubled, suggesting that earnings momentum has spread across the entire market.
According to data from Korea Exchange on the 19th, among 699 December fiscal year-listed KOSPI companies, after excluding financial firms, those with unqualified audit opinions, newly established companies, and those undergoing spin-offs or mergers, the consolidated operating profit of the remaining 634 companies for the first half of this year reached 388 trillion 153.2 billion won, a 254.15% increase compared to the same period last year.
Consolidated sales amounted to 2,000 trillion 126.1 billion won, up 28.84% from the same period last year, while net profit reached 386 trillion 674 billion won, a 333.30% increase. The operating profit margin (operating profit as a percentage of sales) for all KOSPI-listed companies was 19.41%, an improvement of 12.35 percentage points. The net profit margin (net profit as a percentage of sales) also improved to 19.33%, up by 13.58 percentage points.
With the entry into the semiconductor supercycle, the earnings of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, ranked first and second in market capitalization, stood out. Their combined net profit alone reached 253 trillion 120 billion won, accounting for 65% of the total net profit of all KOSPI-listed companies.
Earnings of KOSPI-listed companies excluding Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were also strong. Sales increased by 15.01%, operating profit by 75.61%, and net profit by 119.68% compared to the first half of last year.
In fact, 15 listed companies reported operating profits exceeding 2 trillion won, and 12 companies reported net profits exceeding 2 trillion won, indicating a significant increase in earnings for KOSPI companies this year's first half.
Yeon Dong-chan, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, stated, "While market attention is inevitably drawn to the high earnings growth of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, it also shows that the performance of other companies is improving." He added, "This provides grounds for future stock price gains to potentially spread from the semiconductor sector to other industries."
Furthermore, in terms of financial position, as of the end of June, the debt ratio of KOSPI-listed companies was 100.81%, an improvement of 9.71 percentage points compared to the end of last year. Additionally, among the 634th companies, 519 (representing 81.86%) reported consolidated profits, up from 485 companies in the same period last year, a 12.62% increase.
By industry, net profits increased in 13 sectors including electrical and electronics, and chemicals. Specifically, the order was: electrical and electronics at 697.01%, chemicals at 432.14%, general services at 361.07%, and non-metallics at 317.63%.
The first-half net profit of 42 financial companies totaled 31 trillion 948.8 billion won, a 32.82% increase compared to the same period last year. While securities firms saw their net profits rise by 161%, banks experienced a decline of 4.27%. Financial holding companies increased by 14.53%, insurance companies by 27.16%, and others by 19.24% in net profit for the same period.
The scale of first-half earnings for KOSDAQ-listed companies also improved, driven by strong performances from semiconductor materials, components and equipment firms. Among the 1,264 companies analyzed in the consolidated financial statements, semiannual operating profit reached 9 trillion 427.9 billion won, a 61.54% increase compared to the same period last year. Sales were 183 trillion 575.3 billion won, and net profit was 9 trillion 706.9 billion won, representing increases of 27.17% and 286.95%, respectively, from the same period last year.
By industry, electrical and electronics, which includes many semiconductor materials, components and equipment companies, recorded a net profit of 1 trillion 683.3 billion won, driving the overall increase in net profits across all industries (a net increase of 7 trillion 198.3 billion won). Last year, the electrical and electronics sector reported a net loss of 346.4 billion won.
Companies included in the KOSDAQ150 index demonstrated better profitability than those not included. The operating profit margin for included companies was 7.10%, which is 2.99 percentage points higher than for non-included companies. The exchange also added that the operating profit margin for companies included in the KOSDAQ Global Segment was 8.47%, which is 3.62 percentage points higher than for included companies.
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