Major South Korean conglomerates saw their profitability deteriorate in 2012 from four years earlier due to the global economic slowdown and weak domestic demand, data showed Sunday.
The top 20 family-controlled conglomerates, known here as chaebol, posted an average operating profit margin of 5.6 percent last year, compared with 6.3 percent in 2008, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and Chaebul.com, which tracks the country’s conglomerates.
Last year’s average operating profit margin, or the ratio of operating profit to sales, was the lowest in the past five years.
No. 1 conglomerate Samsung Group and three other conglomerates posted better operating profit margins last year, while the remainder suffered declines.
Samsung, whose flagship is global tech behemoth Samsung Electronics Co., chalked up an operating margin of 10.4 percent in 2012, up sharply from 6.2 percent in 2008.
The profitability measure for Hyundai Motor Group, which has Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. under its wing, rose to 7.7 percent from 6.3 percent over the cited period. (Yonhap News)
