Third-quarter net earnings of the nation’s 10 largest conglomerates plunged from three months ago thanks to the weak domestic currency and slowing demand in the U.S. and Europe, with LG Group posting an unprecedentedly large net loss of over 400 billion won.

Apart from SK Group, Korea’s nine other top conglomerates saw their profits drop in the July-September period as the fiscal crises in advanced economies deepened global economic woes.

Ten listed subsidiaries of LG Group, excluding the financial companies and the holding company which are yet to announce their earnings, reported a third-quarter net loss of 425.7 billion won ($373.2 million), according to data from financial information provider FnGuide and the Financial Supervisory Service.

Much of the dramatic drop from the second quarter, when the 10 companies netted earnings of 932.9 billion won, is attributed to LG’s failure to churn out competitive smartphones. It is the first time the combined earnings of the 11 listed LG firms dipped into the red.

Local brokerages’ average estimate of holding company LG’s third-quarter earnings is 310.2 billion won, which translates into a 115-billion-won net loss for the 11 listed LG companies.

LG Electronics recorded 413.9 billion won in losses, LG Display 687.5 billion won and LG Innotek 35.6 billion won. LG Chem netted 511.6 billion won in profits, down 18.1 percent from the second quarter.

Noting that the 10 listed companies, excluding the holding company, posted operating profits of over 470 billion won in the third quarter, an LG Group official attributed the companies’ net losses mainly to the Korean won’s decline against the U.S. dollar, which made Korean products more expensive abroad.

Samsung Group fared better than LG, with net earnings dipping 2.1 percent from the second quarter.

Excluding Samsung Heavy Industries which hasn’t disclosed earnings, Samsung Group netted 4.03 trillion won in profits in the third quarter, 85 percent of which came from Samsung Electronics.

The net profit of the nation’s largest chipmaker dropped 1.8 percent to 3.44 trillion won in the July-September period.

Samsung C&T Corp. saw net earnings gain 41.6 percent to 101 billion won and Samsung Engineering 15.8 percent to 130.2 billion won.

Hyundai Motor Group’s net earnings shrunk 32.4 percent to 3.27 trillion won in the three months to September.

Hyundai Motor Co. netted 1.92 trillion won in profits, down 16.9 percent from the previous quarter, while Kia Motors Corp.’s net earnings tumbled 42.6 percent to 647.9 billion won. Hyundai Mobis Co. also saw its net earnings fall 21.4 percent to 706.2 billion won.

POSCO Group’s net earnings nosedived 83 percent to 233.1 billion won in the third quarter.

The net loss of Hanjin Group, which is comprised of Korean Air and Hanjin Shipping, increased from 252.8 billion won in the second quarter to 610.3 billion won in the third.

Hyundai Heavy Group’s net profits fell 29.2 percent to 620.7 billion won in the three months to September.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)