Ten Korean companies sustain profits for over two decades

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Ten Korean companies have recorded profits for 94 consecutive quarters spanning over 23 years, remaining resilient amid the numerous global crises over the past two decades.

The ten companies are KT&G Corp., SK Telecom Co., Handsome Corp., Korea Zinc Inc., S-1 Corp., CJ ENM Co., Shinsegae Inc., Hyundai Mobis Co., Yuhan Corp., and Kukdo Chemical Co.

The findings are from an analysis on the performance of 352 of the top 500 Korean companies that was released on Wednesday by CEO Score. The local business data tracker conducted the analysis based on the companies’ quarterly regulatory filings submitted to the financial regulatory body from 2000 until the second quarter of 2023 and was based on their individual financial statements.

Companies that have maintained profits for more than 80 consecutive quarters included Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co. (93 consecutive quarters), Kumho Petrochemical Co. (91 quarters), Kwangdong Pharmaceutical Co. (90 quarters), Kiswire Co. (90 quarters), LG Household & Health Care (LG H&H) Ltd. (89 quarters), NCsoft Corp. (88 quarters), GS EPS Co. (87 quarters), LS Electric Co. (87 quarters), Naver Corp. (86 quarters), Kakao Corp. (86 quarters), Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. (86 quarters), and POSCO International Corp. (86 quarters).

Of these companies, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, GS EPS, and Naver have reported profits in every quarter since they began submitting quarterly report, and. LG H&H has maintained profitability since its founding. A total of 69 companies, including these, or 19.6 percent of the companies surveyed, have recorded consecutive profits for more than 10 years, or 40 quarters.

Conversely, some companies have transitioned from long-term profitability to losses due to the global economic downturn and the sluggish semiconductor industry since the second half of 2022. including Samsung Electronics Co., LX Hausys Ltd., Hyundai Engineering Co., TKG Taekwang Co., Pulmuone Foods Co., Hana Securities Co., SK hynix Inc., Shinhan Securities Co., and GS Engineering & Construction Corp. were among seventeen companies that broke their streak of consecutive profits.

In the second quarter, 60 companies, or 17 percent, of the 352 companies surveyed reported operating losses. Companies such as Hanwha Ocean Co. recorded operating losses for 11 quarters, Korea Electric Power Corp. for 10 quarters, and Korea District Heating Corp. for 9 quarters, failing to reverse their consecutive losses over the past two years.