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| Hanwha headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times file |
Non-financial listed companies in Korea will likely see their total operating income expand nearly 10 percent this year on rising sales, a local brokerage said Wednesday.
In its latest report, Hanwha Investment Securities forecast the combined operating income of those firms listed on the main stock market to grow 9.6 percent year-on-year to 208 trillion won ($163 billion) this year.
Hanwha based its rosy outlook on major companies' strong performances for the January to March quarter.
Their first quarter sales were 3.6 percent higher than the market consensus, with operating income was up 9.6 percent from the median estimate.
Those listed companies appear to have reduced their cost burdens at a higher rate than expected despite soaring oil and other raw materials costs, the brokerage said.
Excluding the state-run power monopoly Korea Electric Power (KEPCO), the total operating income of those listed firms is projected to swell 15 percent year-on-year to 226 trillion won.
The market consensus for KEPCO's 2022 operating loss has risen to 17.5 trillion won from 6.2 trillion won predicted at the start of the year as electricity rates have remained frozen amid surging energy prices.
In the first quarter of the year, the state utility company shouldered the cost burden of major companies amid rising inflation that helped bolster their sales, Hanwha pointed out. (Yonhap)
