A bodily pattern of SK hynix Inc.’s sixth-generation excessive bandwidth reminiscence, HBM4, on the firm’s sales space on the Semiconductor Exhibition (SEDEX) 2025 held in Seoul, Oct. 22 / Yonhap
Korean firms reported improved total development and profitability within the third quarter, pushed by sturdy semiconductor exports amid a man-made intelligence (AI) growth, the central financial institution stated Wednesday.
The mixed gross sales of 26,067 firms topic to exterior audits rose 2.1 p.c from a 12 months earlier within the July-September interval, reversing a 0.7 p.c on-year decline within the second quarter, in line with information from the Financial institution of Korea (BOK).
“The rise in gross sales was pushed by rising exports of excessive value-added merchandise, similar to HBM and DDR5, amid increasing international AI funding, together with increased reminiscence costs,” Moon Sang-yoon, chief of the BOK’s company statistics staff, instructed a press briefing.
Gross sales development within the equipment and electrical and electronics industries jumped 8.9 p.c, greater than quadrupling from 2.2 p.c within the earlier quarter. Excluding these industries, the gross sales development charge stood at round 1.1 p.c.
“The sturdy efficiency by some giant e-commerce retailers, elevated gross sales of imported electrical autos and stable earnings at digital platform firms additionally contributed to the upturn,” Moon added.
Profitability indicators additionally improved.
The working revenue margin of the surveyed firms stood at 6.1 p.c within the third quarter, up from 5.8 p.c a 12 months earlier.
Monetary stability indicators strengthened as effectively.
The debt-to-equity ratio declined to 88.8 p.c within the third quarter from 89.8 p.c within the second quarter, whereas firms’ reliance on borrowing fell 0.4 share level to 26.2 p.c.
“Unfavourable results from new U.S. tariffs continued into the third quarter, however uncertainty has largely eased, and the sturdy efficiency of the semiconductor business helped offset the impression,” Moon stated.
