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The Korea Herald
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THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Industrials

Listed firms’ debt-equity ratio worsens in Q1

  • PUBLISHED :May 27, 2019 - 10:48
  • UPDATED :May 27, 2019 - 10:48
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South Korea’s listed firms saw their financial health worsen in the first quarter of the year, data showed on May 27, amid an economic slowdown.

The average debt-equity ratio of 640 companies listed on the main Kospi bourse, came to 110.7 percent as of end-March, sharply up 6.37 percentage points from the end of last year, according to the data by the Korea Exchange.


The bourse operator didn’t provide the reason for the worsened debt-equity ratio of the companies that close their books in December.

A key barometer of financial soundness, the ratio is calculated by dividing a company’s total liabilities by its stockholders’ equity.

The companies’ debt totaled 1,358.15 trillion won ($1.14 trillion) as of end-March, up 7.5 percent from three months earlier, with their combined equity gaining 1.31 percent to 1,226.82 trillion won.

Approximately 54 percent of the total, or 346 firms, had a debt ratio of 100 percent or lower, while the ratio for 16.3 percent, or 104 companies, exceeded 200 percent. The remainder had an in-between ratio.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)

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