iM Financial Holdings’ First-Half Sales Up 3.42 Trillion Won…Sales of 53 Daegu Listed Companies Rise 10.6%

L&F Swings from Loss to KRW 138.1 Billion Profit
Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Analyzes First-Half Financial Results

According to an analysis by the Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry on August 24, the first-half 2026 consolidated financial results of 53 listed companies (19 KOSPI, 34 KOSDAQ) in the Daegu region showed that sales revenue, operating profit, and net income all increased compared to the same period last year.

In the first half of 2026, the total sales revenue for locally listed companies reached 41.027 trillion won, an increase of 10.6% or 3.9332 trillion won from a year earlier. Operating profit was 2.6719 trillion won, up 40.3% or 767.9 billion won, while net income rose to 1.5805 trillion won, up 86.4% or 732.6 billion won.

Sales Revenue of Listed Companies in Daegu

The significant increase in sales revenue was largely driven by earnings growth at iM Financial Holdings Co., Ltd. The company posted first-half sales revenue of 7.5291 trillion won, up 83.3% or 3.4222 trillion won year-on-year, which accounted for 87.0% of the aggregate increase among regional listed companies.

Additionally, manufacturing companies showed strong improvement. The 41 manufacturing firms posted total sales revenue of 11.754 trillion won, up 15.3% year-on-year. Operating profit jumped to 840.1 billion won, a rise of 183.3%, while net income surged to 590.4 billion won, marking an increase of 279.5%.

On a company count basis, 30 out of 41 manufacturing companies (73.2%) recorded increased sales, 24 (58.5%) reported higher operating profit, and 29 (70.7%) posted increased net income, reflecting broad-based recovery led by the manufacturing sector.

The top three companies by sales revenue in the first half of 2026 were the same as last year: Korea Gas Corporation (19.3102 trillion won), iM Financial Holdings Co., Ltd. (7.5291 trillion won), and SL Corp. (2.7553 trillion won). L&F Co., Ltd. ranked fourth with 1.6247 trillion won, and Trinity Air Co., Ltd. moved up from sixth to fifth place with 1.0818 trillion won. ISU Petasys Co., Ltd. also climbed two spots to eighth with sales revenue of 720.2 billion won. The top ten companies accounted for 87.9% of total listed company revenue in the region, with no new entrants or exits among the top ten compared to last year.

The 19 KOSPI-listed companies posted a 12.0% year-on-year increase in sales revenue, a 45.1% rise in operating profit, and a 99.0% jump in net income. In contrast, KOSDAQ-listed companies saw only a 0.1% rise in sales revenue and a 1.1% drop in operating profit. However, net income for KOSDAQ companies rose 28.2% year-on-year, indicating some improvement.

By sector, sales revenue grew in finance (up 83.3%), transportation (up 31.2%), manufacturing (up 15.3%), and distribution (up 2.1%). On the other hand, sales revenue declined in construction (down 34.8%), electricity and gas (down 5.2%), and other sectors (down 1.2%).

Within manufacturing, secondary batteries posted the highest sales revenue growth rate at 55.4% year-on-year. This was followed by textiles (up 27.5%), machinery and metals (up 14.8%), food (up 12.3%), electrical, electronics and semiconductors (up 10.9%), and auto parts (up 9.1%). Materials and chemicals (down 2.8%) and medical and bio (down 0.4%) saw declines.

The ten listed auto parts companies achieved combined sales revenue of 6.3854 trillion won, up 9.1%. Nine of the ten posted sales growth. Operating profit recorded 400.4 billion won, a rise of 11.7%, while net income hit 379.7 billion won, up 44.3%, reflecting balanced growth.

The eight listed companies in electrical, electronics, and semiconductors reported sales revenue totaling 1.034 trillion won, up 10.9%. Operating profit climbed to 136.9 billion won, a 27.2% increase, and net income reached 111.3 billion won, an increase of 79.1%, indicating growth both in scale and profitability.

Compared to the same period last year, 35 companies (66.0%) recorded increased sales revenue, while 18 (34.0%) saw declines. Operating profit increased at 28 companies (52.8%) and decreased at 25 (47.2%). Net income rose at 32 companies (60.4%) and fell at 21 (39.6%).

The top contributors to sales revenue growth were iM Financial Holdings Co., Ltd. (up 3.4222 trillion won), L&F Co., Ltd. (up 739.8 billion won), Trinity Air Co., Ltd. (up 257.3 billion won), SL Corp. (up 226.9 billion won), and ISU Petasys Co., Ltd. (up 226.3 billion won).

L&F Co., Ltd. led in increases in operating profit, posting a 399.5 billion won gain. It went from an operating loss of 261.4 billion won in the first half of 2025 to an operating profit of 138.1 billion won in the first half of 2026. Next were Korea Gas Corporation (up 346.7 billion won), ISU Petasys Co., Ltd. (up 54.5 billion won), SL Corp. (up 44.4 billion won), and TK Chemical Corp. (up 28.2 billion won).

The number of companies posting a net profit was 32, an increase of three from 29 the previous year. The proportion of profitable companies out of all analyzed firms rose 5.7 percentage points from 54.7% to 60.4%.

There were 24 companies (45.3%) that remained profitable, 8 companies (15.1%) that swung to profit, 16 companies (30.2%) that continued to post losses, and 5 companies (9.4%) that shifted from profit to loss.

Lee Sanggil, Executive Vice Chairman of Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated, "In the first half of this year, listed companies in the region improved their performance thanks to a rebound in secondary batteries as well as growth in core manufacturing sectors such as auto parts and electrical, electronic, and semiconductor industries. However, given ongoing large differences by industry, efforts must be made to expand this recovery trend broadly to small and medium-sized companies by strengthening support for finance and tax policy, exports, and new industry transitions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.