Fourth-quarter earnings of South Korea’s major listed companies are expected to hover below earlier forecasts due to a protracted global economic slump, data showed Friday.

The combined operating profit of 116 listed firms is estimated at 26.5 trillion won ($24.9 billion) for the October-December period, according to the data based on predictions made by local brokerage houses and compiled by local financial information provider FnGuide.

The estimate is down 1.13 percent from the 26.8 trillion won the securities companies predicted in December.

“In the wake of the slump in the U.S. and Chinese economies, listed firms are expected to show lower-than-expected performances for the fourth quarter,” said Lim Jong-pil, a researcher at Hyundai Securities Co.

Steelmakers led the decline following an industry-wide slump, with No. 1 player POSCO expected to post an operating profit of 847 billion won for the fourth quarter, down 16.8 percent from a year earlier.

The operating profit of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., South Korea’s top shipbuilder, is estimated to have declined 34.2 percent on-year to 578.7 billion won.

Local utility firms such as state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. are also among the worst performers, buffeted by excessively low rates amid soaring electricity consumption in winter, FnGuide added.

In contrast, the operating profit of tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. is estimated to have surged 59.27 percent on-year to a record high of 8.4 trillion won for the last quarter on robust global sales.

LG Electronics Inc. is also expected to have swung to a profit in the fourth quarter by reporting a comparable figure of 1.8 trillion won, the data added.

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s top automaker, is predicted to have registered an 9.6 percent increase in operating profit despite the local currency’s rise against the Japanese yen, which usually hurts exporters’ overseas sales.

Construction firms also performed better in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, with the operating profit of No. 1 player Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. estimated to have increased 47.5 percent on-year, according to the data. (Yonhap News)