SK Group reaped the largest net profit in the first half of this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, beating Samsung Group on equity gains from its affiliates, data from Yonhap Infomax showed Sunday.

The consolidated net profit of SK rose 32 percent to 6.19 trillion won ($5.2 billion) during the first six months compared to a year ago, driven by strong performances of its key affiliates such as SK hynix, SK Telecom and SK Innovation.

Samsung came second with its net profit declining 30 percent from a year ago due mainly to slower sales in the mobile businesses. 

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)