Combined sales of major Korean bio firms up 16% in Q1: Report

The combined sales of major Korean-listed companies in the health care sector rose 16 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, industry data showed on Monday.

The combined revenue of 82 companies in the KRX Health Care Index, which tracks the performances of leading companies in the local health care sector, was 9.47 trillion won ($6.2 billion) in the first quarter of this year, according to a report published by KoreaBIO, an association representing bio companies.

The total value of exports from the companies stood at 4.1 trillion won for the January to March period, up 16.7 percent on year.

Their operating profit margin was 19.6 percent during those three months, up 2.1 percentage points from a year earlier.

Their total spending on research and development rose 18.5 percent on year to 1.04 trillion won.

The report also showed that 47,951 people were employed by Korea-listed companies in the health care sector, up 4.5 percent on year.

Yonhap