Seoul, Aug 20 (NationPress) A significant number of midsized companies reported a downturn in operating profits during the first half of the year due to ongoing economic uncertainties, as indicated by industry data released on Wednesday.

According to the findings from the corporate analysis firm CEO Score, 500 listed midsized firms achieved a total operating profit of 6.34 trillion won ($4.55 billion) from January to June, reflecting a decrease of 4.1 percent compared to 6.62 trillion won in the same period last year.

Conversely, sales experienced a growth of 3.1 percent year-on-year, reaching 122.6 trillion won during the same timeframe, as reported by the Yonhap news agency.

Among the 500 firms, 269 or 53.8 percent reported a decline in operating profits, while 60 firms, equivalent to 12 percent, remained unprofitable.

The information technology (IT) and electronics sectors faced the most significant setbacks, with combined operating profits plummeting 25 percent to 1 trillion won from 1.35 trillion won a year earlier.

Similarly, the construction industry suffered, with a staggering 42.5 percent drop in combined operating profits, amounting to 222.3 billion won less than the previous year.

On the contrary, the service sector demonstrated notable resilience, achieving a remarkable 30.7 percent year-on-year increase in operating profits, rising to 1.04 trillion won from 797.7 billion won.

“The IT and electronics industry has been severely impacted by weak demand stemming from U.S. tariffs,” commented an official from CEO Score, adding that the prolonged economic downturn has heavily influenced the profitability of midsized companies.

Meanwhile, major South Korean corporations, excluding the chip giant SK hynix Inc., witnessed a 1.7 percent decline in operating profits during the first half of the year compared to the previous year, according to industry data.

As per CEO Score's data, 342 of the top 500 companies by sales that published their half-year reports recorded a total of 1,655.3 trillion won in sales for the January-June period, marking a 5.5 percent increase from the previous year.

Their total operating profits rose by 5.9 percent year-on-year to 118.5 trillion won.

However, when SK hynix is excluded, which reported the highest operating profit of 16.7 trillion won for the period, the collective operating income of these companies fell by 1.7 percent year-on-year.

Tech leader Samsung Electronics followed with an operating profit of 11.4 trillion won for the first half, a decrease of 33.4 percent compared to last year.

Hyundai Motor Co. reported 7.2 trillion won in operating profit, while Korea Electric Power Corp. and Kia Corp. followed closely with 5.9 trillion won and 5.8 trillion won, respectively.