A recent survey shows that South Korean firms in the local auto industry have taken home only five percent of their revenue from sales, spending the rest to make up for the costs.

The corporate tracker 'Korea 20000 Corporate Research Institute' on Wednesday released the results of its survey on last year’s business performances by one-thousand-79 local automakers, part suppliers, and sellers. 

Only eight-point-seven percent of the surveyed firms posted operating profit to sales ratio of more than ten percent last year, while 22-point-four percent recorded between five and ten percent.

More than half of the businesses posted less than five percent.

However, the survey showed that South Korea’s top carmaker Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors posted 35 percent and 18-point-eight percent in operating profit to sales ratio last year, respectively, while auto parts manufacturer Hyundai Mobis recorded 15-point-eight percent.