Ecopro Materials: Revenue Recovering, Operating Losses and Heavy Cash Burn Persist

Thesis

The data supports a top-line recovery: 2025 revenue grew 30.9% and trailing twelve-month revenue to H1 2026 is ₩523.7B, up from ₩392.5B in 2025. Net income is positive at ₩71.6B, but operating income is still negative at -₩16.7B, so the profit does not come from core operations in the data provided. Operating losses have narrowed from -16.7% margin in 2025 to -3.2% on a trailing basis. Against that, free cash flow is deeply negative at -₩475.1B and borrowings of ₩616.7B far exceed cash of ₩88.2B. Investor flow, foreign ownership and short balance data are not available, and no news headlines were provided, so sentiment cannot be assessed from this data.

Business overview

Ecopro Materials is a KOSPI-listed company in the batteries sector, founded on 2017-04-26 and listed on 2023-11-17. The CEO is listed as 이규봉. It has 69,932,424 listed shares and a market capitalisation of about ₩2.4T. Annual revenue was ₩665.2B in 2022, ₩952.5B in 2023 (up 43.2%), ₩299.8B in 2024 (down 68.5%) and ₩392.5B in 2025 (up 30.9%). The numbers show a large swing in scale over four years.

Financial analysis

These figures come from filed financial statements (DART). Trailing revenue to H1 2026 is ₩523.7B, operating income is -₩16.7B (margin -3.2%), and net income is ₩71.6B (margin 13.7%). The gap between operating loss and net profit suggests non-operating items, but the data does not break them down. Return on equity is 7.5% on a trailing basis, versus 2.6% in 2025 and -5.6% in 2024. Annual operating margins were 5.9% in 2022, 0.9% in 2023, -21.6% in 2024 and -16.7% in 2025. Liabilities-to-equity is 95.9%. Borrowings are ₩616.7B against cash of ₩88.2B, and trailing free cash flow is -₩475.1B. A filing dated 2026-09-30 relates to new facility investment, which may be linked to the spending, though the data does not state amounts.

Valuation

The current price-to-earnings ratio is 33.7, price-to-book is 2.1 and price-to-sales is 4.6. Enterprise value is ₩2.94T, higher than market cap because of net debt; EV/EBITDA and dividend yield are not available. At the end of 2025, P/E was 151.2 and P/B was 3.2, so both multiples are lower now, though the P/E reflects the rise in net income. Among peers in the data, P/B ranges from 1.9 (Samsung SDI) to 6.3 (Ecopro BM), with LG Energy Solution at 4.2, POSCO Future M at 3.3 and L&F at 5.0. Ecopro Materials' 2.1 is near the low end. Peer P/Es are very high (Samsung SDI 1,200.9, POSCO Future M 307.7, Ecopro BM 258.5) or unavailable, so earnings-based comparison is of limited use.

Catalysts

• An advance notice of earnings results disclosure and an IR event are both dated 2026-10-13, which may provide new information on recent results.
• A corrected filing on new facility investment dated 2026-09-30 may show how the company is deploying capital.
• Changes in the largest shareholder's holdings were filed on 2026-08-13 and 2026-09-16, along with 5%+ holding and insider shareholding reports, indicating ownership activity.
• The H1 2026 half-year report filed on 2026-08-14 showed trailing revenue rising to ₩523.7B, and the next results could show whether the trend continues.

Risks

• Operating income remains negative at -₩16.7B on a trailing basis, so the business has not yet shown operating profitability.
• Free cash flow of -₩475.1B and borrowings of ₩616.7B against ₩88.2B of cash create financing pressure.
• Net income of ₩71.6B is not backed by operating profit, so its quality and repeatability are unclear from the data.
• Revenue has been volatile, falling 68.5% in 2024 after rising 43.2% in 2023.
• The share price is down 25.2% over one year, and investor flow, foreign ownership and short interest data are unavailable, which limits visibility into market positioning.

Closing view

The data shows a company whose revenue is recovering and whose losses at the operating level have narrowed, with valuation multiples that are lower than at the end of 2025 and near the low end of peers on price-to-book. At the same time, operating income is still negative, cash burn is large, and debt is high relative to cash. Profit at the net level is not matched by operating results. Upcoming earnings and IR disclosures on 2026-10-13 may clarify these points. Missing data on flows, ownership and news means the picture is incomplete.

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, 2026InitiationEcopro Materials: Revenue Recovering, Operating Losses and Heavy Cash Burn Persist