Hanjinkal: Profits Fell Sharply From 2024 Peak as Valuation Rests on Book Value

Thesis

The data supports a picture of a holding company whose reported earnings are volatile and currently weak. Trailing revenue is ₩306.1B with operating income of only ₩5.6B (1.8% margin) and a net loss of ₩30.5B (-10.0% margin). Net income was ₩497.0B in 2024 and ₩155.0B in 2025, so the decline is large. Free cash flow over the trailing period is positive at ₩129.4B, and leverage is modest at liabilities of 19.5% of equity. The share price is 25.0% below its 52-week high of ₩175,900 but 41.7% above the low of ₩93,100. The data does not include investor flows, foreign ownership, short balance or recent news, so market sentiment cannot be assessed here.

Business overview

Hanjinkal is listed on KOSPI in the holding companies sector. It was founded on 2013-08-01 and listed on 2013-09-16. The CEOs are listed as 조원태 and 류경표. It has 66,762,279 listed shares and a market capitalization of about ₩8.8T. Revenue was ₩395.3B in 2021, ₩200.3B in 2022 (-49.3%), ₩275.7B in 2023 (+37.6%), ₩292.2B in 2024 (+6.0%) and ₩298.4B in 2025 (+2.1%). The data does not describe its business lines or subsidiaries.

Financial analysis

These figures come from filed financial statements (DART). Operating income was -₩195.2B in 2021, ₩14.5B in 2022, ₩42.8B in 2023, ₩49.2B in 2024 and -₩7.5B in 2025. Operating margin moved from 15.5% in 2023 to 16.8% in 2024, then to -2.5% in 2025. Net income was well above operating income in most years: ₩683.8B in 2022, ₩385.1B in 2023, ₩497.0B in 2024 and ₩155.0B in 2025, which suggests large non-operating gains, though the data does not give the source. Return on equity was 33.6% in 2022, 14.8% in 2023, 16.7% in 2024 and 4.7% in 2025, and is -0.9% on a trailing basis to H1 2026. Cash is ₩107.6B against borrowings of ₩264.4B, and liabilities to equity is 19.5%.

Valuation

Price-to-earnings is not available because trailing earnings are negative. Price-to-book is 2.6, close to the 2.5 at year-end 2025 (when P/E was 53.4). Price-to-sales is 28.8 and EV/EBITDA is 617.2, both very high because operating profit is small relative to the ₩8.96T enterprise value. Dividend yield is 0.3%. Listed peers in the data trade at price-to-book of 0.8 to 2.4 (SK Square 2.4, KB Financial 1.0, Shinhan 0.8, SK 1.1, Hana 0.8) and P/E of 4.0 to 9.9, so Hanjinkal's 2.6 is above all of them. Peers are financial or holding companies of much different earnings profiles, so comparability is limited.

Catalysts

• Two share cancellation decisions were filed on 2026-08-12 and 2026-08-13, which may reduce the share count, though details are not in the data.
• Amended filings on acquisition of shares in another company were made on 2026-07-30, 2026-08-28 and 2026-09-29, indicating ongoing investment activity.
• The half-year report for June 2026 was filed on 2026-08-14 and is the latest source of earnings data.
• A 5%+ holding report and an insider shareholding report were filed on 2026-08-11, pointing to changes in ownership.

Risks

• Trailing net income is a loss of ₩30.5B and operating margin is only 1.8%, so earnings support for the valuation is thin.
• Net income has historically exceeded operating income by wide margins, so results may depend on non-operating items that can be volatile.
• Price-to-book of 2.6 is higher than every listed peer in the data, leaving less valuation cushion if book value or sentiment changes.
• Borrowings of ₩264.4B exceed cash of ₩107.6B, though overall leverage is low.
• Investor flow, foreign ownership and short interest data are unavailable, so shifts in market positioning cannot be observed.

Closing view

The evidence is mixed. Balance sheet leverage is low and trailing free cash flow is positive at ₩129.4B, and the share price is up 35.4% over a year. However, operating profit has fallen from ₩49.2B in 2024 to a small trailing figure, net income has turned negative, and the stock trades at 2.6 times book, above the peers shown. The share cancellations and acquisition filings are worth following, but the data does not explain their size or purpose, so conclusions about them are limited.

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, 2026InitiationHanjinkal: Profits Fell Sharply From 2024 Peak as Valuation Rests on Book Value