South Korea's listed firms are expected to show improved earnings in the first quarter of 2015 from a year earlier, helped by the steady performance of tech firms, including Samsung Electronics Co., data showed Thursday.

The combined operating profit estimate for 170 listed companies was raised by 0.2 percent to 28.47 trillion won ($25.6 billion) for the first quarter as of Wednesday from a month earlier, according to the data by financial information provider FnGuide.

"Some companies are expected to report better-than-estimated results for the first quarter, and market expectations about corporate earnings improvement are running high," said Kim Jae-eun, an analyst at NH-Woori Investment and Securities.

The outlook for the IT sector improved sharply this year as top smartphone maker Samsung Electronics Co. and other leading firms released fourth-quarter earnings that were higher than anticipated.

Samsung's fourth-quarter results showed an operating profit of 5.29 trillion won, down 36.4 percent from a year ago but 30.24 percent better than the previous quarter.

For the first quarter, Samsung, the world's largest handset maker, is expected to see an improvement in its performance on the back of its latest smartphone, the Galaxy S6, set to hit the shelves in April.

"Major firms' fourth-quarter performance was roughly in line with market expectations and that means there will be no sharp revisions of earnings outlook down the road," said Yeom Dong-chan, an analyst at LIG Investment & Securities Co.

The analyst said it is very positive to see continued improvement in the performance of the country's IT firms, which will boost the overall corporate earnings outlook.

The data showed that telecom operators and energy-related firms are expected to see their bottom lines improve as well. (Yonhap)