South Korean companies saw the lowest on-year sales growth in more than five years in the third quarter of this year as unfavorable currency exchange rates and weakening oil prices hit exporters, central bank data showed Friday, raising concerns over their flagging growth potential.

Sales growth at 1,670 local firms, including 1,519 listed companies, slumped 3.2 percent on-year in the July-September period, falling the most since a 4 percent drop in the second quarter of 2009 when the global financial storm hit the country, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.

The figure for manufacturers, which accounted for more than half of the surveyed firms, tumbled 5.2 percent, also marking the sharpest fall since a 5.5 percent drop in the second quarter of 2009.

While shipbuilders and machinery makers’ sales growth improved in the third quarter from the previous quarter, electronics firms saw their sales growth shrink 13.7 percent from 9.6 percent three months earlier.

Sales growth at chemical firms and oil refiners also shrank 4.9 percent compared with a 0.4 percent dip in the second quarter.

“Overall, exporters saw their won-denominated sales retreat as the won-dollar exchange rate slipped. Additionally, the tech sector suffered a slump in smartphone sales while a fall in global oil prices hit the chemical industry,” said Park Seong-bin. (Yonhap)