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JONBUR Research · Update note

SK Innovation · 096770 · Energy

SK Innovation Q3 Preliminary Results: Operating Profit ₩3.7T and Net Income Back in Positive Territory

Why this report

Written after:

SK Innovation's preliminary consolidated Q3 2026 results show operating profit of ₩3.7T, up 532.5% from a year earlier, and net income of ₩2.6T versus a loss a year ago. This fills in the earnings-quality gap left by the previous note, though cash flow, borrowings and one-off items are still not visible.

Written Oct 29, 2026 · Data as of Oct 28, 2026 · 0 views

This is not financial advice. The report does not recommend buying or selling anything.

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What happened

On 2026-10-29 the company filed preliminary consolidated results for July–September 2026. These are provisional and may differ from final figures.

Revenue was ₩28.8T, up 39.7% from Q3 2025 and down 1.3% from Q2 2026. Operating profit was ₩3.7T (₩3,704.3B), up 532.5% year on year and 6.2% from Q2 (₩3,487.3B). Q3 2025 operating profit was ₩585.6B.

Pre-tax profit from continuing operations was ₩3.5T, against ₩569.7B in Q2 and ₩88.7B a year earlier. Net income was ₩2.6T (₩2,641.3B), versus ₩73.5B in Q2 and a loss of ₩94.3B in Q3 2025. Net income attributable to owners of the parent was ₩2.6T (₩2,585.8B), versus ₩215.0B in Q2 and a loss of ₩107.9B a year earlier.

For the first nine months, revenue was ₩82.2T (up 34.3%), operating profit ₩9.4T (₩9,353.7B, versus ₩153.3B) and net income ₩3.6T (versus a loss of ₩1.3T).

Pre-tax profit jumped far more than operating profit between Q2 and Q3. The filing excerpt does not explain why, so we cannot say how much came from non-operating or one-off items.

What it changes for the thesis

The previous note said the operating recovery was strong but that net income, one-offs, cash flow and leverage were unknown. The filing answers the first question: net income did turn positive in Q3, and the operating recovery now shows in reported profit.

It does not fully settle earnings quality. Operating profit rose only ₩217B from Q2, yet pre-tax profit rose by about ₩2.9T, so a large non-operating gain looks likely, though the excerpt does not identify it. Q3 net income alone is therefore not a clean guide to run-rate earnings.

Cash flow, borrowings and the effect of the pending SKIET merger remain unavailable. The latest filed balance sheet, which runs to H1 2026, shows borrowings of ₩37.3T, cash of ₩13.3T and liabilities at 169.7% of equity. The thesis is strengthened on operations and partly on earnings, and unchanged on the balance sheet.

What it changes for the valuation

The model has no estimate for this company, and the previous report had none either, so there is no bear, base or bull range to compare with the share price of ₩139,700 (as of 2026-10-28).

The multiples in our data still run to H1 2026 and exclude Q3: price-to-book 0.9, price-to-sales 0.3, enterprise value ₩47.3T, with P/E and EV/EBITDA unavailable because trailing net income was negative. Adding the Q3 figures would likely change these, but we have not recalculated them.

Peer comparison remains limited. S-Oil shows P/E of 9.3 and P/B of 1.4, but the peer group is small and mixed in size.

Closing view

The preliminary results are a clear improvement. Operating profit has grown roughly sixfold from a year ago, and the company moved from loss to a ₩2.6T quarterly net profit. The gap between operating and pre-tax profit is large and unexplained in the data we have, so the sustainable level of earnings is uncertain. Cash generation, debt and merger terms are also still open. The picture is better confirmed at the profit level but not yet at the cash flow and balance sheet level, and full Q3 statements should clarify this.

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).

Filings and data used

Report history

  1. Oct 29, 2026Update noteEarningsSK Innovation Q3 Preliminary Results: Operating Profit ₩3.7T and Net Income Back in Positive Territory
  2. Oct 29, 2026Update noteNewsSK Innovation Reports Q3 Operating Profit of ₩3.7043T, Up 533% From a Year Earlier
  3. Oct 13, 2026InitiationSK Innovation: Sharp Share Price Rebound While Trailing Earnings Remain Loss-Making

Built only from jonbur's own data: prices and investor flows, filed financial statements and filings, and news headlines. Disclosed (filed) data is labelled as such. Written by AI and may contain mistakes.

This is not financial advice. The report does not recommend buying or selling anything.

Source: KRX statistical information