The front gate of SK hynix Inc.’s headquarters in Icheon, about 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul, is seen in this photo provided by the company. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean chip giant SK hynix Inc. ranked first in operating profit among 1,000 major listed firms here in 2024, surpassing its longtime rival Samsung Electronics Co. for the first time, a corporate tracker said Monday.
According to CXO Institute, which surveyed the earnings results of the top 1,000 listed companies from 2000 to 2024, SK hynix posted an operating profit of 21.33 trillion won (US$15.78 billion) last year, outpacing all other firms.
Samsung Electronics came in second with an operating profit of 12.36 trillion won, followed by Kia Corp. with 8.49 trillion won, Hyundai Motor Co. with 6.59 trillion won, and shipping company HMM with 3.48 trillion won.
Both Samsung and SK hynix returned to operating profitability in 2024 from the previous year, largely due to a base effect, as they had reported relatively poor earnings in 2023.
“On a parent basis, Samsung Electronics’ sales were nearly four times higher than SK hynix’s last year. However, SK hynix outperformed Samsung in terms of operating profit, as its operating profit margin reached 38.3 percent, compared with Samsung’s mere 5.9 percent,” said Oh Il-seon, head of the CXO Institute.
In 2024, Samsung Electronics reported 209.05 trillion won in sales, significantly higher than SK hynix’s 55.74 trillion won.
The combined operating profit of the 1,000 companies surged to a record 148.28 trillion won in 2024, up 92.7 percent from 76.92 trillion won the year before.
All reported figures are based on parent-only financial results, not consolidated ones.
The number of companies that reported an operating profit of over 1 trillion won rose to 29 last year, up from 23 in 2023.
New entrants to the “1 trillion-won club” include HMM, biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc., Hanwha Aerospace Industries Co. and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co.
(Yonhap)
