S. Korean listed firms' H1 net tumbles 42 pct

SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korean listed companies' net profit plunged
nearly 42 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier due to a
global economic downturn and a weaker local currency, the bourse operator said
Tuesday.

The combined net income of 569 firms listed on the Seoul main bourse stood at
16.6 trillion won (US$13.2 billion) in the January-June period, compared with
28.5 trillion won a year earlier, according to a report by the Korea Exchange
(KRX).
The companies' sales, however, managed to edge up to 418.9 trillion won from
418.8 trillion won with their operating profit plummeting 45.7 percent to come in
at 19.9 trillion won, KRX said.
The weaker bottom-line came as a softer South Korean won increased their import
costs and the global economic turmoil ate into profitability, the bourse operator
said.
The local currency dropped nearly 27 percent to the U.S. dollar in the first half
of the year, compared with a year earlier.
Among the firms tallied, 63 companies affiliated with the nation's top 10
industrial conglomerates saw their total earnings decline 33.6 percent to 11.4
trillion won during the six-month period, according to KRX.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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