Combined sales of South Korean companies in the third quarter of this year fell the most from a year ago in 13 years amid a prolonged slump in international oil prices and the discontinued sale of Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on safety concerns, central bank data showed on Thursday.

Total sales in local firms with assets worth over 12 billion won ($10.2 million) fell 4.8 percent in the July-September period from a year ago, the largest drop in 13 years since a 6.3 percent decline recorded in the third quarter of 2003, according to the Bank of Korea’s (BOK) survey on 3,062 companies. The on-year sales growth, the indicator of a company’s growth, has also contracted for 10 consecutive quarters since the second quarter in 2014.

The BOK blamed the depressed oil prices and Samsung Electronics’ supply disruption of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 premium phones for the sharp revenue fall in the quarter.

Manufacturers posted a 6.1 percent contraction in sales, with non-manufacturers reporting a 2.9 percent fall. By industry, sales shrank by 10.2 percent in the transportation vehicle industry, 7.4 percent in the machinery, electric and electronic industry and 6.4 percent in the petrochemical industry.

Sales at large companies decreased 5.2 percent, while those at small and medium-sized enterprises declined 3.2 percent, the BOK said.

Despite the continue drop in their sales, the companies have managed to maintain profitability almost unchanged in the third quarter compared to a year ago. The average operating profit margin of the surveyed companies came at 5.7 percent in the quarter, which stayed nearly flat from a year ago. The corresponding figure for the manufacturing industry was 5.9 percent, higher than 5.5 percent for the non-manufacturing industry. By industry, operating profit margin at the non-metallic mineral industry reached 10.9 percent, while the petrochemical industry stood at 7.6 percent.

The debt ratio of the companies was 91.8 percent at the end of September, down 2.8 percentage points from the end of June.

By Chung Ui-hyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]