SEOUL, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The operating profit ratio among South Korean manufacturers hit a new high in the first quarter thanks to robust sales by chip manufacturers, central bank data showed Friday.
The ratio of operating profit to revenue for companies subject to external audit stood at 7.4 percent in the January-March period, up from 6.1 percent in the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The number of companies subject to external audit, which possess at least 12 billion won (11 million U.S. dollars) in assets, was 3,324.
The operating profit ratio for manufacturers came in at 8.8 percent in the quarter, the highest since the bank began compiling the data in the first quarter of 2015.
The record operating profit was attributable to solid sales by semiconductor makers. The ratio of operating profit to revenue for producers of machine, electric and electronic products, including chipmakers, hit a new high of 15.4 percent in the first quarter.
The South Korean economy's dependence on chipmakers deepened. Excluding revenue by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the country's top two chipmakers, the ratio of operating profit to revenue in all industries declined to 5.3 percent from 7.4 percent.
The ratio for non-manufacturers came in at 5.4 percent in the first quarter, down 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier.
