DN Automotive: Strong Profit Growth and Low Multiples, Alongside a Sharp One-Month Share Price Drop and Labor-Safety News

Thesis

The filed numbers show a company with growing revenue, steady margins and a P/E of 5.9 and P/B of 1.0, well below the battery peers listed. The data supports a picture of solid profitability and a 3.0% dividend yield. What the data does not show is how the labor and safety headlines dated 2026-10-13 could affect operations, costs or reputation, and no investor-flow, foreign ownership or short-balance data is available. The share price gain of 63.8% over one year and the 16.3% fall over one month show that sentiment has moved sharply.

Business overview

DN Automotive is listed on KOSPI and classified in the data under Batteries. It was founded on 1971-06-23 and listed on 1988-09-24, with 58,510,865 listed shares. The data lists two CEOs, 김상헌 and 김인환. Revenue grew from ₩930.8B in 2021 to ₩3.68T in 2025, with a 239.1% jump in 2022. Growth since then has been slower, at 3.6% in 2023, 5.1% in 2024 and 7.0% in 2025. The data gives no detail on products or customers.

Financial analysis

All figures come from filed financial statements (DART). Trailing twelve-month revenue to H1 2026 is ₩4.15T, operating income ₩618.7B and net income ₩387.8B, giving an operating margin of 14.9% and a net margin of 9.3%. Annual operating margin was 14.4% in 2025, 15.2% in 2024 and 15.0% in 2023. Net income was ₩281.6B in 2025 versus ₩284.9B in 2024, so it was flat that year, while the trailing figure is notably higher. ROE is 18.8% on a trailing basis, versus 15.0% in 2025 and 27.3% in 2023. Liabilities to equity stand at 122.3%. Cash is ₩459.1B against borrowings of ₩1.59T. Free cash flow is ₩410.3B.

Valuation

At ₩39,150 per share the data shows a P/E of 5.9, P/B of 1.0, P/S of 0.6 and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Enterprise value is ₩3.42T; EV/EBITDA is not available. At the end of 2025 the P/E was 5.1 and P/B 0.7, so multiples are somewhat higher than at that point; earlier year-end multiples are not available. Listed peers show P/B of 1.6 (Samsung SDI), 3.3 (POSCO Future M), 4.2 (LG Energy Solution), 5.0 (L&F) and 6.3 (Ecopro BM). Peer P/E figures are either not available or extreme (258.5 to 1,024.7), so they are not a useful comparison. The share price sits between a 52-week low of ₩21,550 and a high of ₩67,500.

Catalysts

• News dated 2026-10-13 reports the CEO has been summoned as a witness at a National Audit over the lead-exposure allegations.
• The Labor Ministry has reportedly referred the company for investigation, and a union group is calling for a special labor inspection, per the headlines.
• Two 5%+ holding reports were filed on 2026-10-02 and 2026-10-07, which point to changes in major shareholdings.
• The half-year report for June 2026 was filed on 2026-08-14, alongside IR events on 2026-08-10 and an amended IR notice on 2026-08-14.
• A cash dividend decision and a record-date decision were filed on 2026-07-15.

Risks

• The lead-exposure allegations and investigations could bring regulatory, legal or operational consequences, but the data gives no figures on any financial impact.
• The share price fell 16.3% in one month, showing high volatility around the recent news.
• Borrowings of ₩1.59T are well above cash of ₩459.1B, and liabilities to equity is 122.3%.
• Revenue growth slowed to 7.0% in 2025 from the 2022 surge, and net income in 2025 was slightly below 2024.
• Investor flow, foreign ownership and short-balance data are not available, so positioning cannot be assessed.

Closing view

The filed financials show a profitable company with stable margins, positive free cash flow and low valuation multiples relative to the battery peers in the data. Against this, the labor-safety headlines and the sharp one-month price decline introduce uncertainty that the statements do not capture, and leverage is meaningful. The data is not enough to judge how large the headline risk may become, so the evidence points in two directions and is best read alongside further disclosures.

Model estimate of fair value

The valuation model has no estimate for this company yet (not enough data, or no positive value with the base case).

Report history

1. Oct 13, 2026InitiationDN Automotive: Strong Profit Growth and Low Multiples, Alongside a Sharp One-Month Share Price Drop and Labor-Safety News