South Korea’s top 10 business groups saw their earnings decline in 2011 on the economic downturn and rising costs of raw materials, data showed Wednesday.

According to the data compiled by Chaebol.com, a corporate information provider on large businesses, the combined net profit of 81 listed companies affiliated with the country’s top 10 conglomerates reached 35.8 trillion won ($31.8 billion) last year, a drop of 19 percent from a year earlier.

Their operating income also declined 13.3 percent to 44.1 trillion won over the cited period, the data showed.

Their sales, however, gained 12.7 percent on-year to 667 trillion won, it showed.

By group, Samsung Group, the country’s leading conglomerate, saw combined net profit and operating income of their 14 affiliates each drop more than 20 percent to reach 15.4 trillion won and 13.1 trillion won, respectively, from a year earlier.

But the group’s sales surged 10 percent to 183 trillion won, the data showed.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and two other affiliates also saw their combined profit drop by more than 30 percent mainly due to increased competition in the shipbuilding industry.

Hyundai Motor Co., the country’s leading automaker, and eight other affiliates posted a 20 percent rise in their operating income and net profit last year. Their combined sales surged 19.8 percent to 132.7 trillion won.

The data also showed that combined assets of the surveyed firms gained 9.1 percent on-year to 687.8 trillion won, and their debts also rose 9.8 percent to 321 trillion won over the cited period. 

(Yonhap News)