Eight out of 10 listed firms forecast to log better Q2 profits

Eight out of 10 listed firms in South Korea are expected to post better earnings in the second quarter than a year earlier, led by chemicals, airlines and securities firms, data showed Wednesday.

Out of 208 listed firms whose earnings guidances were available, 82.2 percent said they expected to see their operating profits rise in the April-June period from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by market researcher FnGuide.

Among them, 150 are projected to show on-year growth, while 19 are expected to be in the black.

Brokerage houses offered a rosy outlook on Samsung SDI Co., Samsung Group's chemical and battery making unit, expecting strong sales of Samsung's Galaxy 6S smartphones launched in April to lift its mobile battery division.

Samsung SDI logged 737 million won ($672,000) in operating income in the second quarter of 2014, but it is expected to skyrocket to 36.84 billion won in the current quarter that ends on June 30.

Operating profit of Asiana Airlines Inc. is estimated to reach 70.26 billion won in the second quarter, jumping from 2.9 billion won a year earlier, thanks mainly to lower fuel costs from cheap oil prices.

Securities firms are expected to extend their rally following robust first-quarter performances as investors have flocked to the equity market amid low interest rates.

Samsung Securities, Daishin Securities and NH Investment & Securities are poised to turn around from the red a year earlier with increased fees coming from high stock turnover.

In contrast, Samsung Group's affiliates face grim outlooks as the group's sprawling businesses ranging from life insurance, credit card, shipbuilding and engineering units are set to post worse profits this year than last year.

Operating profit of POSCO Co., the nation's No. 1 steelmaker, is forecast to shrink 3.4 percent on-year in the second quarter due to weak demand and a supply glut.

Leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. is also expected to suffer in the second quarter as the weaker Japanese yen against the Korean won has eroded its price competitiveness in the global market, according to the data.(Yonhap)