Corporate sales, profit growth accelerate in Q1: BOK

Office workers in Yeuido, Seoul / Yonhap

Korean companies' sales and profitability improved in the first quarter of the year, driven by strong performances in the semiconductor, transportation and other industries, central bank data showed Tuesday.

Corporate sales spiked 13.5 percent in the January-March period from three months earlier, accelerating from the previous quarter's 2.5 percent gain, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The data is based on a review of 26,067 companies subject to external audits.

By sector, manufacturing businesses saw their sales grow by 21.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter, compared with 4.7 percent growth in the previous three-month period, led by gains in electronics, visuals and communication equipment.

Sales in the non-manufacturing sector expanded 3.7 percent in the January-March period, also rebounding from a 0.3 percent decline the previous year, driven by service industries, such as transportation, according to the central bank data.

The local firms' operating profit-to-sales ratio stood at 13.2 percent, accelerating from 6.6 percent growth the previous quarter.

The firms' average debt-to-equity ratio stood at 87 percent in the first quarter, down slightly from 88.9 percent the previous quarter, the latest findings showed.