Net income of listed companies expected to fall for 2008

SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) -- The net income of South Korea's listed companies is
expected to fall for 2008 due to the global economic slowdown, a local financial
services company said Sunday.
FnGuide Inc. said it examined 258 companies out of 707 listed businesses that
released information on expected sales and profit levels, and found average net
income dropped 20.62 percent on average to 45.48 trillion won (US$34.90 billion).
The expected drop marks the first time since 2006 for net profits to shrink on an
annual basis, the financial solutions, management support and data service
provider said.
The volume of combined sales and operating profit of these companies rose an
average of 24.97 percent and 10.89 percent to 915.77 trillion won and 67.70
trillion won, respectively, it said.
For next year, FnGuide said things may get worse, with operating profit also
likely to decline.
Local securities companies echoed the view, saying that operating profits of
companies listed on the stock exchange are expected to fall 6.46 percent compared
to this year.
They said information technology, financial, materials and energy-related
businesses may be the hardest hit, with profits falling by double digits,
although solid gains may be made in telecommunications services.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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