Operating profit margins of South Korean companies hit a six-year high last year, and their combined sales posted growth for the first time in three years.
 
According to data by the Bank of Korea on Tuesday, the ratio of operating profits to sales for the whole industries came to six-point-one percent last year, up nine tenths of a percent from the previous year.
 
The 2016 figure marks the highest since 2010 and an increase of one-point-eight percentage points from 2014.
 
The data of the operating profit ratio and sales are seen as positive indicators for the South Korean economy, along with the bullish stock market and improving consumer sentiment.