Listed companies in South Korea posted improved earnings in the third quarter from a quarter ago, possibly signaling a rebound from the previous pandemic-hit quarters this year, data showed Wednesday. 

In the July-September period, the combined net profit of 590 out of 655 firms that are listed on the main KOSPI bourse and close their books on Dec. 31 came to 25.6 trillion won ($23.2 billion) on a consolidated basis, up 81.3 percent from three months ago, according to the data compiled by bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX).

Their combined operating income jumped 57.8 percent to 36.4 trillion won on-quarter, with sales increasing 12.19 percent to 503.1 trillion won over the cited period, KRX data showed.

"The sharp recovery in the third quarter was largely led by an earnings rebound in the shopping, auto and steel industries, which had been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in the previous quarter," KRX said in a statement.

Of the listed companies, 422 entities, or 74.92 percent, managed to log a profit, while 148 firms suffered a net loss in the third quarter, according to KRX.

During the first nine months of the year, the KOSPI-listed companies' net profit dipped 9.44 percent to 51 trillion won from a year ago amid the pandemic.

Their operating income fell 6.8 percent to 79 trillion won, and sales dropped 4.8 percent to 1,440 trillion won during the cited period.

The country's secondary KOSDAQ market also marked an earnings rebound in the third quarter. The combined net profit of 958 out of 1,088 listed firms increased 51.7 percent quarter-on-quarter to 2.24 trillion won.

Their operating profit jumped 15.95 percent to 3.55 trillion won, and sales increased 10.57 percent to 50.67 trillion won.

Combined net profit in the first nine months decreased 14.98 percent on-year to 4.84 trillion won. But operating profit increased 5.47 percent to 8.26 trillion won, and sales gained 2.18 percent to 142.82 trillion won. (Yonhap)