Top 500 Large Corporations Surpass 700 Trillion Won in Q1 Revenue This Year for the First Time Ever

The view of Samsung Electronics Seocho Building in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Major companies ranked within the top 500 domestic firms recorded sales exceeding 700 trillion KRW in the first quarter of this year. This is the first time in history.

On the 17th, CEO Score, a corporate evaluation site, conducted a survey targeting 344 companies that submitted first-quarter reports this year among 500 large domestic companies. The total sales of these companies in the first quarter amounted to 793.0055 trillion KRW, an increase of 131.0138 trillion KRW (19.8%) compared to the same period last year (661.9917 trillion KRW). This is the first time that the quarterly sales of the top 500 companies have exceeded 700 trillion KRW.

Due to the semiconductor industry boom, the IT Electrical & Electronics sector, including Samsung Electronics, posted sales of 143.3362 trillion KRW. This was followed by Petrochemicals (101.4110 trillion KRW), Automobiles & Parts (80.3913 trillion KRW), Insurance (67.1869 trillion KRW), Securities (48.1918 trillion KRW), Public Enterprises (45.3703 trillion KRW), and Banks (42.7730 trillion KRW) in order of sales volume.

The largest increase in sales by industry was in Petrochemicals, which rose by 29.5612 trillion KRW (41.1%), surpassing IT Electrical & Electronics. The second-ranked IT Electrical & Electronics sector increased by 22.1383 trillion KRW (18.3%) compared to the same period last year. On the other hand, Shipbuilding, Machinery & Equipment (-601.3 billion KRW, 2.7%↓) and Telecommunications (-261.7 billion KRW, 1.8%↓) saw declines in sales compared to the same period last year due to recession effects and investment segmentation following SK Telecom’s transition to an intermediate holding company.

The total operating profit of the surveyed companies in the first quarter of this year was 62.3266 trillion KRW, an increase of 5.4% (3.1851 trillion KRW) from 59.1415 trillion KRW in the first quarter of last year. By industry, the IT Electrical & Electronics sector recorded the highest operating profit at 21.2001 trillion KRW.

Looking at sales by company, Samsung Electronics (12.393 trillion KRW, 19%↑) maintained its unshakable first place in sales. Samsung Electronics also ranked first in operating profit (4.7385 trillion KRW, 50.5%↑). Following were Korea Gas Corporation (6.2681 trillion KRW, 81.3%↑), which benefited from the global natural gas price surge; Meritz Securities (5.9859 trillion KRW, 123.7%↑), known for its project financing (PF) real estate competitiveness; POSCO Holdings (5.2693 trillion KRW, 32.8%↑); and SK Energy (5.2388 trillion KRW, 101.7%↑), all showing high sales.

HMM made significant progress with an operating profit of 2.1293 trillion KRW (208.9%↑), approaching half the scale of Samsung Electronics. This was followed by SK Hynix (1.5352 trillion KRW, 115.9%↑), SK Energy (988.7 billion KRW, 323.3%↑), and POSCO Holdings (705.2 billion KRW, 45.4%↑), showing strong performance in that order.