The corporate earnings outlook for the fourth quarter of this year has turned bleaker amid a series of weak third-quarter performance reports by major South Korean companies, a market tracker said Sunday.

FnGuide, which provides financial information, said 128 major listed companies, for which more than two brokerages houses have offered earnings estimates, are projected to register a combined operating profit of 27.4 trillion won ($24.3 billion) for the October-December period.

The number is down 1.18 percent from an estimate made a month earlier and 4.05 percent from a prediction three months earlier.

According to FnGuide, concerns are running high over fourth-quarter earnings by construction companies, steelmakers and shipyards.

Last week, Samsung Engineering Co., a construction arm of Samsung Group, shocked the market by posting a surprise operating loss of 1.5 trillion won for the third quarter.

Samsung Engineering is forecast to chalk up an operating profit of 10.8 billion won for the current quarter, down 24.4 percent from a prediction made a month earlier.

POSCO Co., South Korea's top steelmaker, is expected to record an operating profit of 651.9 billion won for the last quarter, also down 15.3 percent from a forecast made a month ago. Last week, POSCO posted a net loss of 658.24 billion won for the third quarter, its second quarterly loss ever.

According to FnGuide, local securities companies have also revised down their earnings estimates for Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. and other shipyards struggling with worsening business conditions.

South Korean chip giant SK hynix Inc. faces a gloomier earnings outlook as competition is expected to intensify due to China's entry into the chip market.

SK hynix is projected to post an operating profit of 1.25 trillion won for the fourth quarter, down 3.9 percent from an estimate a month ago. (Yonhap)