Revenue among 11,604 manufacturers and 11,358 non-manufacturers subject to external audit retreated 4.3 percent in the April-June quarter compared to the same quarter of last year, according to the Bank of Korea.
It marked the first reduction in two and a half years, after expanding 20.5 percent in the second quarter of last year, 17.5 percent in the third quarter, 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter and 0.4 percent in the first quarter of this year.
Revenue for manufacturers tumbled 6.9 percent in the second quarter after decreasing 2.1 percent in the previous quarter.
It was attributable to weaker global demand for locally-made semiconductors and lower oil products prices.
Sales by non-manufacturers dwindled 0.7 percent in the second quarter, turning downward from an increase of 3.6 percent in the prior quarter.
Corporate profitability worsened. The ratio of operating profit to revenue almost halved to 3.6 percent in the second quarter compared to 7.1 percent in the same quarter of last year.
The ratio for manufacturers plunged 5.7 percentage points to 2.9 percent in the cited quarter, while the reading for non-manufacturers slipped 0.5 percentage points to 4.6 percent.
The debt-to-equity ratio for the domestic companies stood at 90.8 percent in the second quarter, down from 95.0 percent in the previous quarter.
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