The overall performances of Kospi-listed firms improved in the first half of 2016, announced Korea Exchange on Wednesday. The average growth of operating profits of 633 companies that closed their books in December stood at 14.4 percent, while their net profit rose 20.2 percent on average compared to the same period last year.

As for manufacturers, sales fell 1.66 percent during the period, while operating profits and net profits climbed 5.04 percent and 9.55 percent, respectively. 


Except for Samsung Electronics, the market bellwether, sales of the Kospi companies dropped 2.3 percent. The statistics excluded Samsung since its contribution to the figure is too significant.

Fifty-one financial companies also showed better performance for the first six months of the year, with their operating profits rising by 6.1 percent and net profits by 7.7 percent.

Banks saw a whopping 49.3 percent growth in their net profits, while securities firms suffered a 42.6 percent plunge.

Tech-heavy Kosdaq firms saw increases in sales, operating profits and net profits in H1, the KRX said. On a consolidated basis, the average sales of 941 companies rose by 4.33 percent, operating profits by 5.9 percent and net profits by 4.32 percent.

By Song Su-hyun (song@hearldcorp.com)