JONBUR Research · Initiation
IL · 307180 · Electrical equipment
IL: Revenue Has Grown but Losses Persist While the Share Price Has Nearly Doubled Over a Year
Why this report
Start of coverage: written when a reader opened this company and there was no report yet.
IL, a KOSDAQ-listed electrical equipment company with a market value of about ₩193.4B, posted trailing revenue of ₩98.6B but an operating loss of ₩5.2B. The shares are up 90.5% over one year yet down 9.3% over the past month.
Written Oct 25, 2026 · Data as of Oct 23, 2026 · 0 views
This is not financial advice. The report does not recommend buying or selling anything.
Thesis
The data supports a story of sharply higher sales: revenue rose from ₩39.1B in 2023 to ₩102.9B in 2025. It does not yet show that growth turning into profit. The company earned an operating profit in 2024 (₩5.0B) but returned to losses in 2025 and in the trailing twelve months to H1 2026.
Balance sheet and cash flow are the weak points. Free cash flow over the trailing period is -₩30.4B, cash is only ₩3.4B against ₩15.4B of borrowings, and liabilities are 288.2% of equity. Filings show a short-term borrowing increase, share acquisitions in another company and an early acquisition of the company's own convertible bonds.
Sentiment signals are mixed. News says the chairman bought 23,000 shares on the open market, and insider and large-holder reports were filed in October. Foreign ownership fell from 2.1% to 1.3% over 60 days. Over 20 days, institutions and foreigners were small net buyers and retail investors were net sellers, but the amounts are small.
Business overview
IL is listed on KOSDAQ in the electrical equipment sector. It was founded on 2018-08-31 and listed on 2018-12-21, with 36,915,676 listed shares. Chief executive is listed as Song Seong-geun. Recent news headlines mention battery materials research, humanoid and data businesses and physical AI, but the data gives no segment breakdown, so the revenue split is not available.
The revenue history is uneven: ₩48.6B in 2021, ₩49.2B in 2022, ₩39.1B in 2023 (-20.5%), ₩83.5B in 2024 (+113.7%) and ₩102.9B in 2025 (+23.2%). The share price closed at ₩5,240 on 2026-10-23, within a 52-week range of ₩2,450 to ₩10,400, so it sits about 50% below the high.
Financial analysis
Figures come from filed financial statements. Trailing revenue through H1 2026 is ₩98.6B, with an operating loss of ₩5.2B (margin -5.3%) and a net loss of ₩10.4B (margin -10.6%). Return on equity is -38.2%.
Annual picture: operating margin was 5.3% in 2021, -1.5% in 2022, -42.8% in 2023, 6.0% in 2024 and -8.3% in 2025. Net income was ₩431.7M in 2024 and a loss of ₩11.1B in 2025, with ROE of -70.0% in 2025.
The balance sheet shows cash of ₩3.4B, borrowings of ₩15.4B and liabilities to equity of 288.2%. Free cash flow is -₩30.4B, meaning operations and investment are consuming cash. Enterprise value is ₩205.4B.
Valuation
With losses, price-to-earnings and EV/EBITDA cannot be calculated. Price-to-book is 4.5, versus 5.9 at the end of 2025, 7.9 at the end of 2024 and 22.3 at the end of 2023. Price-to-sales is 2.0. The dividend yield is 0.0%.
Listed peers are far larger (market values of ₩5.1T to ₩23.5T) and are profitable. Their price-to-book ranges from 6.8 to 12.8 and P/E from 19.9 to 105.9. IL's price-to-book is below all of them, but a book value comparison is limited given IL's negative returns and small scale.
The valuation model estimate is not available (null), so no model estimate per share can be compared with the ₩5,240 price.
Catalysts
- The company filed a decision to acquire its own convertible bonds before maturity on 2026-10-13, which may affect its debt and share structure.
- Chairman Song Seong-geun bought 23,000 shares (about ₩120M) in mid-October, as reported by several outlets.
- IR events were held on 2026-10-12 and 2026-10-22, giving possible updates on strategy.
- Repeated filings on acquiring shares in another company in September point to expansion into new areas.
- The next financial statements will show whether the operating loss is narrowing.
Risks
- The company is loss-making, with a trailing operating margin of -5.3% and net margin of -10.6%.
- Free cash flow of -₩30.4B against ₩3.4B of cash raises funding needs, as suggested by the short-term borrowing increase and securities issuance filings.
- Liabilities of 288.2% of equity leave limited balance sheet cushion.
- Earnings history is volatile, swinging between profit and heavy loss in consecutive years, so 2024's profit may not be repeatable.
- The share price is volatile (52-week range ₩2,450 to ₩10,400, -9.3% in one month) and foreign ownership is falling.
Closing view
The data shows a company with fast-growing sales, a share price well above a year ago, and insider buying, but also operating losses, negative free cash flow, thin cash and high leverage. Valuation multiples are lower than much larger profitable peers, yet earnings-based measures and a model estimate are unavailable. The evidence is mixed and hinges on whether revenue growth converts into sustained profit and cash flow, which upcoming filings should clarify.
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
- Investor relations (IR) eventOct 22, 2026
- Insider shareholding reportOct 19, 2026
- 5%+ holding reportOct 15, 2026
- Material Matters Report (Decision on Acquisition of Own Convertible Bonds Before Maturity)Oct 13, 2026
- Investor relations (IR) eventOct 12, 2026
- 5%+ holding reportOct 6, 2026
- Decision on Increase in Short-Term BorrowingsSep 21, 2026
- Amended: Acquisition of shares in another companySep 21, 2026
- 5%+ holding reportSep 21, 2026
- Securities Issuance Results (Voluntary Disclosure)Sep 18, 2026
- Amended: Acquisition of shares in another companySep 18, 2026
- Acquisition of shares in another companySep 10, 2026
- IL Chairman Song Seong-geun Publishes Battery Materials Research Paper in International JournalOct 19, 2026
- IL Co. Chairman Song Seong-geun's paper on ultra-high-nickel cathode materials published in an international academic journalOct 19, 2026
- IL Largest Shareholder Buys Additional 23,000 Shares of Treasury Stock… Expands Humanoid and Data BusinessesOct 16, 2026
- Song Sung-keun, CEO of IL, buys company shares worth ₩120M with personal fundsOct 16, 2026
- SONG Seong-geun, Chairman of IL, buys 23,000 shares on the open market… "Confident in physical AI growth"Oct 15, 2026
- Daily prices up to 2026-10-23
- Financial statements, trailing 12 months as of H1 2026
Report history
Source: KRX statistical information