SEOUL, June 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's corporate revenue growth slowed down in the first quarter due to weaker industrial activity among both manufacturers and non-manufacturers, central bank data showed Monday.
Revenue for 11,651 manufacturers and 11,486 non-manufacturers subject to external audit, excluding financial firms, rose 2.4 percent in the January-March quarter after expanding 3.5 percent in the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Sales by manufacturers mounted 2.8 percent in the first quarter, slower than an increase of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.
Revenue for non-manufacturers grew 1.9 percent in the first quarter after advancing 3.1 percent in the prior quarter.
Corporate profitability improved. The ratio of operating profit to revenue went up to 6.0 percent in the first quarter from 5.4 percent in the same quarter of last year.
The ratio for manufacturers climbed from 5.4 percent to 6.2 percent in the cited period, while the reading for non-manufacturers gained from 5.3 percent to 5.9 percent.
The debt-to-equity ratio for the domestic companies stood at 89.9 percent during the January-March quarter, down from 91.2 percent in the previous quarter. ■
