Seven out of ten listed firms in South Korea fared better than expectations in the first quarter despite the setbacks from the COVID-19 outbreak.

Of 243 companies whose first-quarter earnings estimates were available by more than three securities firms, 162 exceeded projected numbers, according to data compiled by the Korea Exchange and local financial market tracker FnGuide on Tuesday.

Data also found that 87 companies or 36 percent delivered surprising results with their income report beating market consensus by 10 percent or higher.

The biggest winners were Samsung Life Insurance Co., dental implants maker Osstem Implant Co., Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., convenience store franchiser GS Retail Co., and COVID-19 diagnostic kit maker Seegene Inc.

Samsung Life Insurance stunned the market by reporting an operating income of 374.6 billion won ($305.7 million), far above market estimate of 70.1 billion won.

Osstem Implant reported an operating profit of 4.1 billion won, outperforming consensus of 900 million won. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering posted 279.0 billion won in operating income, far exceeding 60.8 billion won estimate. GS Retail booked 88.8 billion won versus market forecast of 23.9 billion won. Seegene earned 39.8 billion won, more than doubling market estimates of 14.4 billion won.

About 3 percent or 81 firms underperformed. Total 62 companies reported profit below 10 percent or more.

By Kim Jung-beom and Cho Jeehyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]