# South Korean companies improve profitability as sales growth slows > The central bank’s 2025 analysis shows the operating margin rising to 5.2% while sales growth eased to 2.4%. - Canonical URL: https://newsverum.com/en/news/south-korea-2025-corporate-profitability-improves - Publisher: Newsverum - Section: Economy - Country: South Korea - Published: 2026-10-21T11:11:49+00:00 - Updated: 2026-10-21T11:11:49+00:00 - Event / data period: 2025 - Other editions: [Türkçe](https://newsverum.com/tr/news/south-korea-2025-corporate-profitability-improves.md), [العربية](https://newsverum.com/ar/news/south-korea-2025-corporate-profitability-improves.md), [Français](https://newsverum.com/fr/news/south-korea-2025-corporate-profitability-improves.md), [Español](https://newsverum.com/es/news/south-korea-2025-corporate-profitability-improves.md), [Deutsch](https://newsverum.com/de/news/south-korea-2025-corporate-profitability-improves.md), [Português](https://newsverum.com/pt/news/south-korea-2025-corporate-profitability-improves.md) South Korea’s Bank of Korea said sales growth among non-financial, for-profit corporations slowed to 2.4% in 2025 from 3.7% in 2024. Total-asset growth edged up to 7.1% from 7.0%, according to the annual corporate analysis released on 21 October. The operating-profit margin rose to 5.2% from 4.6%, while the debt-to-equity ratio declined to 116.2% from 119.9%. The aggregate indicators show slower growth alongside improved profitability and financial stability; they are not company-level results. ## Data ### South Korean companies improve profitability as sales growth slows Methodology: Sales growth rate for non-financial, for-profit corporations in the bank’s 2025 annual analysis; 2025 observation. | label | value | unit | period | basis | |---|---|---|---|---| | Annual sales growth rate | 2.4 | percent | 2025 | observed | Sources: · Download data: [JSON](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/south-korea-2025-corporate-profitability-improves/data/reported-measure?lang=en&format=json) · [CSV](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/south-korea-2025-corporate-profitability-improves/data/reported-measure?lang=en&format=csv) ## Sources - [Bank of Korea]() (Source checked: 2026-10-21; Published: 2026-10-21) --- Cite the canonical URL above. [Editorial standards and corrections](https://newsverum.com/en/editorial)