Major listed firms fare ill in 4th quarter

Korea's major listed firms performed worse in the fourth quarter of 2011 than three months earlier largely due to a global economic slowdown and the eurozone debt turmoil, data showed Wednesday.

The combined operating profit of 108 listed companies is estimated at 27.4 trillion won ($23.8 billion) for the October-December period, down 5.49 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data by local financial information provider FnGuide.

The figure is also down from 30.4 trillion won in the first quarter to 29.9 trillion won in the next three-month period.

The data covers listed firms, for which more than three brokerage houses have put forward earnings estimates.

According to FnGuide, airlines are the worst performers, buffeted by high-flying international oil prices.

The operating profit of top air carrier Korean Air Lines Co. is estimated to have dropped around 40 percent in the fourth quarter from three months earlier, while that of No. 2 player Asiana Airlines Inc. expected to suffer a drop of more than 30 percent.

In contrast, large-cap companies performed well in the last quarter with the operating profit of tech behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. estimated at 4.75 trillion won, up 11.8 percent from the prior quarter.

The operating profit of No. 1 automaker Hyundai Motor Co. is estimated to have grown 13.3 percent on-quarter to 2.26 trillion won, while top steelmaker POSCO probably posted the weakest quarterly operating profit of 1.19 trillion won for the year, according to the data. (Yonhap)