SEOUL, June 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's corporate revenue logged a double-digit growth in the first quarter thanks to the strong performance of semiconductor manufacturers, central bank data showed Tuesday.
Revenue for 12,962 manufacturers and 13,105 non-manufacturers subject to external audit, excluding financial firms, jumped 13.5 percent in the January-March quarter from a year earlier after rising 2.5 percent in the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It marked the fastest expansion in three and a half years since the third quarter of 2022.
Sales by manufacturers surged 21.1 percent due mainly to soaring global demand for locally-made semiconductors.
Revenue for non-manufacturers grew 3.7 percent in the first quarter after falling 0.3 percent in the previous quarter.
Corporate profitability improved. The ratio of operating profit to revenue rose to 13.2 percent in the first quarter from 6.0 percent a year earlier.
The ratio for manufacturers advanced from 6.2 percent to 18.1 percent in the cited period, but the reading for non-manufacturers slipped from 5.9 percent to 5.7 percent.
The debt-to-equity ratio for local companies stood at 87.0 percent in the January-March quarter, down from 88.9 percent in the prior quarter. ■
