Big biz operating profits may reach 94 tln won in 2011: report

SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Yonhap) -- The operating profit of large South Korean companies
may reach 94 trillion won (US$80.7 billion) in 2011 on strong sales gains, a
local securities data service provider said Sunday.
FnGuide said in its latest assessment of the 500 largest companies listed on the
Korea Stock Exchange that their total sales could reach 1,003.38 trillion won in
the target year.
The assessment is based on the premise that the current pace of recovery can be
maintained in the foreseeable future, the company said.
Sales that reached 857 trillion won in 2008 are expected to post modest gains to
top 864 trillion this year, but may balloon in the coming years on the strength
of solid growth as the country shakes off it recent economic lethargy.
South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, is expected to post negative growth
of around 1 percent this year due to the worldwide financial crisis, but could
pull off 4 percent growth in 2010.
FnGuide said that based on such gains, combined operating profits could rise from
57 trillion won in 2008 to 61 trillion this year and around 84 trillion in 2010
before surpassing the 90 trillion mark the following year.
Despite such rosy views, some experts caution that it may to too early to say how
companies will perform in the next few years since global economic conditions
remain fluid.
"There are signs that local information technology and auto makers have improve
international competitiveness, while the banking sector seems to have shaken off
much of its worries following the Lehman Brothers collapse of last year," a stock
market watcher cautioned.
However, he stressed there are still many uncertainties looming in the future
that must be factored in when making investments or predicting the overall
market.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)