Korean firms' sales up 13.5%, debt ratio falls in Q1 2026

The Bank of Korea's analysis of 4,233 non-financial corporations reveals a significant upturn in key performance indicators for the first quarter of 2026.

Sales experienced a robust increase of 13.5 percent compared to the previous quarter, signaling strong demand and economic activity.

Concurrently, total assets expanded by 4.7 percent year-on-year, indicating continued investment and balance sheet expansion.

Profitability metrics also saw substantial gains: the operating income to sales ratio rose from 6.0 percent to 13.2 percent, and the income before taxes to sales ratio climbed from 7.7 percent to 15.4 percent over the same period last year.

These figures underscore a broad-based improvement in corporate earnings power.

Corporate financial stability showed positive trends in the first quarter.

The debt-to-equity ratio, a key measure of leverage, decreased from 88.9 percent to 87.0 percent compared to the previous quarter, suggesting a reduction in financial risk.

Similarly, the ratio of total borrowings and bonds payable to total assets fell from 24.4 percent to 23.9 percent.

These improvements indicate that non-financial companies are actively managing their liabilities and strengthening their balance sheets.

The analysis is based on a survey of 4,233 corporations, representing a significant portion of audited non-financial firms in Korea.