No. of money-losing listed firms nearly halves in 2009

listed firms-net loss


SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- The number of listed companies in South Korea
suffering a net loss almost halved in 2009 from the previous year as an economic
recovery at home and abroad helped boost corporate profitability, an on-line
financial information provider said Tuesday.

According to FN Guide, 88 out of the total 585 companies tallied, posted red ink
results for last year, compared with 2008 when 167 firms reported a net loss.
The FN Guide data tallied companies listed on the nation's two stock indexes, the
KOSPI and KOSDAQ.
Of the 88 companies with a net loss last year, 45 firms were listed in the main
stock index KOSPI with the remaining 43 enterprises listed in the tech-heavy
junior market KOSDAQ, FN Guide said.
"Corporate performance rebounded sharply in the fourth quarter last year,
compared with the fourth quarter a year before when the economy rapidly
deteriorated," said a Bank of Korea official in charge of corporate statistics.
"Asset revaluation also partly contributed to the gains in net profits as firms
repriced their asset holdings ahead of the adoption of International Financial
Reporting Standards," or a new global standard for accounting.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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