S. Korean listed firms Q3 net plunges nearly 60 pct

SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's listed companies reported a sharp drop in their third-quarter earnings due to the global economic slowdown, a trade association said Tuesday.

According to the Korea Listed Companies Association (KLCA), combined profits for
570 companies that close their books on Dec. 31 reached 6.08 trillion won
(US$4.25 billion) in the July-September period, a sharp drop of 59.24 percent
from a year earlier.
Sales jumped almost 30 percent to 227.79 trillion won over the cited period,
while operating income slipped 9.72 percent to 14.12 trillion won, according to
the association.
In the first nine months of the year, their combined earnings sank 19.57 percent
to 34.87 trillion won, and operating income gained 15.23 percent to 51.62
trillion won, it said.
"A global economic downturn began to eat into corporate earnings," said an
official at the KLCA. "Losses from currency-related hedging also made a big dent
on their earnings."
sam@yna.co.kr
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