A survey of third-quarter earnings forecasts for 232 domestic listed companies found notable upward revisions in semiconductors and oil-related businesses, while the outlook for automobiles, biotechnology and chemicals was challenging, resulting in a clear split in revisions by sector.
According to a survey by financial information provider F&Guide, 127 of the 232 companies revised their third-quarter operating profit forecasts upward from 3 months earlier, while 105 revised them downward. Overall, upward revisions outnumbered downward revisions.
Leading examples of upward revisions included semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Samsung Electronics revised its operating profit forecast upward from ₩105.9030 trillion to ₩111.3772 trillion, an increase of approximately 5%, while SK hynix also revised its forecast upward by 2% over the same period. Samsung SDI, meanwhile, substantially raised its forecast from ₩14.8 billion to ₩125.1 billion.
Com2uS revised its third-quarter operating profit forecast upward by 382%, from ₩2.3 billion to ₩11.2 billion, reportedly driven by the hit performance of its recently released game.
The overall upward revisions were attributed to the effects of changing international conditions, including higher crude oil prices, as well as growing semiconductor demand and improved performance in related sectors. Automobiles, biotechnology and chemicals, however, saw downward revisions, with notable downward revisions among major stocks including LG Energy Solution. The total third-quarter operating profit forecast for domestic listed companies ultimately came to ₩257.7774 trillion, up 4% from ₩247.8612 trillion 3 months earlier.