Samsung Operating Profit Drops 92% Amid 'Semiconductor Cold Wave'... Hyundai Motor Increases by 43%

CXO Research Institute Analyzes 306 Affiliates of 4 Major Groups
From 71.9 Trillion KRW in 2022 to 24.5 Trillion KRW Last Year
Hyundai Motor Ranks 1st... Samsung Electronics at the Bottom

Last year, the operating profits of the four major conglomerates (Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and LG) decreased by more than 65% compared to the previous year. Samsung's operating profit dropped by over 90%, ceding the top spot to Hyundai Motor Group. SK's operating profit fell by about 80%, and LG posted a loss. Hyundai Motor's operating profit increased by more than 40% last year.

On January 9th, Samsung Electronics Seocho Building, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

On the 24th, Korea CXO Institute, a corporate analysis specialist, announced the results of the operating profit changes of 306 major domestic affiliates of the four major groups compared to 2022. The performance was investigated based on separate (individual) financial statements.

The total operating profit was 24.518 trillion KRW, a decrease of 65.9% (47.40002 trillion KRW) from 71.9182 trillion KRW in 2022.

By group, Samsung had the largest decrease. The operating profit of 59 Samsung affiliates dropped from 38.7465 trillion KRW in 2022 to 2.8363 trillion KRW last year, a decrease of 35.9102 trillion KRW (92.7%). Samsung Electronics' operating loss of 11.5262 trillion KRW last year had a significant impact. Samsung Electro-Mechanics (799.6 billion KRW → 124.7 billion KRW), Samsung Display (4.3998 trillion KRW → 3.7696 trillion KRW), and Samsung SDI (1.0108 trillion KRW → 588.3 billion KRW) also saw their operating profits decrease by more than 100 billion KRW.

SK's operating profit fell from 19.1461 trillion KRW in 2022 to 3.9162 trillion KRW last year, a decrease of 15.2299 trillion KRW (79.5%). SK Hynix (7.6609 trillion KRW → -4.0672 trillion KRW) and SK Energy (2.5923 trillion KRW → 401.8 billion KRW) saw their operating profits decrease by more than 2 trillion KRW.

Hyundai Motor increased its operating profit by more than 40%. It rose from 12.5827 trillion KRW in 2022 to 18.0362 trillion KRW last year, an increase of 5.4535 trillion KRW (43.3%) in one year. Hyundai Motor (2.8285 trillion KRW → 6.6709 trillion KRW) and Kia (3.008 trillion KRW → 6.3056 trillion KRW) more than doubled their operating profits, which had a positive impact.

LG posted a loss. While it recorded a profit of 1.4429 trillion KRW in 2022, it posted a loss of 270.7 billion KRW last year. LG Display (-3.8841 trillion KRW) and LG Chem (-109.1 billion KRW) performed poorly. LG Electronics (110.7 billion KRW → 576.7 billion KRW) performed well.

By affiliate, Hyundai Motor ranked first with an operating profit of 6.6709 trillion KRW last year. Kia was second with 6.3056 trillion KRW. Samsung Electronics was at the bottom with -11.5262 trillion KRW, followed by SK Hynix (-4.0672 trillion KRW).

Oh Il-seon, director of the CXO Institute, said, "This year, business performance will improve compared to last year, but the key is how much performance will increase compared to 2020-2022, not last year." He added, "Since the dependence on semiconductors is high, it is very important to pioneer new industries that can compete in the global market in the long term."