We are halfway through the third quarter earnings season… and according to one market research firm,... one out of THREE listed firms here in South Korea saw operating profits *significantly below what had been predicted.<br />Our Ko Roon-hee explains further. <br /> <br />Financial information provider FnGuide says 1 out of 3 listed firms in Korea suffered earning shocks in the third quarter with reported profits significantly below analysts' expectations.<br /><br />FnGuide says 37 out of the 114 KOSPI or KOSDAQ listed companies with consensus estimates based on combined estimates of 3 or more analysis firms... recorded operating profits significantly below those estimates. These firms saw their profits fall more than 10% short of the forecasted numbers.<br /><br />For instance, one Korean pharmaceutical company only made around 178-thousand U.S. dollars of operating profits in the third quarter.<br />This is significantly lower than stock firms' profit estimates of around 23-million dollars. <br /><br />And more than 60 of the 114 firms saw operating profits below stock firms' estimates. <br />The situation is especially grim for Korea's auto industry. <br />Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors' third quarter operating profits both fell short of consensus estimates.<br />Analysts say this signals a downward trend in profit growth among local companies.<br />They added that 4th quarter market consensus estimates are being lowered.<br />Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News. <br />
