Data released by the Bank of Korea on Wednesday indicates that sales growth for South Korean companies accelerated in the second quarter of this year, with profitability also improving, driven primarily by chip manufacturers and petrochemical firms. According to the central bank's figures, corporate sales rose 26.7% year-on-year during the April-June period, significantly outpacing the 13.5% growth recorded in the previous quarter. This assessment is based on a review of 26,509 companies that underwent external audits. By sector, manufacturing sales expanded by 39.6% year-on-year, up from 21.1% in the prior three months, largely thanks to the strong performance of chipmakers. Non-manufacturing sales climbed 9.7%, accelerating from the 3.7% increase seen in the preceding quarter. The ratio of operating profit to sales improved to 16.9%, up from 5.1% in the same period last year. Additionally, the average debt-to-equity ratio for companies fell to 84.5% in the second quarter, down from 87% in the first quarter, according to the Bank of Korea's data.