Corporate margins shrink in Q2 on rising costs: BOK

SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- Companies in South Korea saw their profitability shrink in the second quarter from a year earlier despite a sales jump due mainly to a rise in commodity prices, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Their operating profit to sales ratio stood at 7.4 percent in the April-June period, down 0.3 percentage point from a year ago, according to a report compiled by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The report is based on a survey of 3,148 companies, including 2,001 manufacturing firms.

Combined corporate sales, on the other hand, increased 20.5 percent on-year.

The operating profit to sales ratio for manufacturers fell from 9 percent to 8.6 percent over the cited period. That of non-manufacturers fell from 5.4 percent to 5.1 percent.

The rise in commodity prices is primarily attributed to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the entailing trade sanctions on Russia by the Western economies.

jwc@yna.co.kr
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