Profits slump

PROFITS at South Korean manufacturing firms dropped sharply in the first six months of 1992 because of higher costs and sagging exports. This is the first time in three years that South Korean manufacturers' profits have fallen. Of the 499 listed firms whose business year ends in December, 373 earned dollars 56bn in turnover in the first half, up 12 per cent. But their total pre-tax profits fell 14.7 per cent to dollars 943m.