Korean battery, defense majors report disappointing 3Q earnings

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South Korean battery and defense industry leaders reported disappointing earnings in the third quarter, causing their stock prices to decline on Thursday.

Samsung SDI disclosed its earnings for the third quarter of 2023, with sales of 5.95 trillion won ($4.4 billion) and an operating profit of 496 billion won. While revenue increased by 10.8 percent from a year ago, operating profit fell by 12.3 percent. The operating profit for its battery division was 411.8 billion won, down 15.1 percent from the same period last year.

On the same day, Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced its earnings for the third quarter, reporting sales of 2.36 trillion won and an operating profit of 184 billion won. Compared to a year earlier, sales only decreased by 1 percent, but operating profit saw a significant 40.8 percent decline. The company attributed the decline in operating profit to the ongoing weakening of the Japanese yen, which is intensifying competition with overseas companies such as Murata.

Hyundai Glovis reported a 19.6 percent on-year decrease in operating profit for the third quarter, with earnings standing at 384.2 billion won. During the same period, revenue fell 9.8 percent to 6.33 trillion won.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering reported sales of 5.01 trillion won and an operating profit of 69 billion won in the third quarter. Although sales increased by 17.5 percent compared to the same period last year, operating profit saw a 63.5 percent drop.

OCI disclosed its third-quarter sales of 450.1 billion won and an operating profit of 22 billion won. LIG Nex1 posted a 22.9 percent fall in third-quarter sales, with earnings of 536 billion won, and a 29.6 percent drop in operating profit, which amounted to 41.1 billion won.

Following the earnings announcement after the market closed, the company’s stock price declined by 1.57 percent to close at 88,000 won.