DL is the holding company at the top of the group. It wholly owns the petrochemical subsidiary DL Chemical, whose results are consolidated (which is why its official classification is 'chemicals'), it is the largest shareholder of the construction firm DL E&C with roughly a 22% stake, and it also controls DL Energy and Glad Hotel, so its earnings come from two streams: the petrochemicals it runs directly, and the results and dividends of its subsidiaries. Across May and June, several 'key subsidiary management matter' disclosures reported large supply contracts won by the subsidiary DL E&C, and the Q1 report showed a return to profit. What stands out is that if listed-subsidiary results and a rebound in petrochemical margins are joined by shareholder returns, there is room (an FCF yield of about 29%) to narrow the discount typical of holding companies. On the other side, net profit swings between profit and loss with the petrochemical cycle and subsidiary results, a structural holding-company discount and safety and cost risks at construction sites persist, so this is a company to judge by NAV rather than P/B.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- Revenue fell 5.1% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 7.5% lower than a year earlier.
- ROE is -2.2% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 5.6%.
- Valued against the net asset value (NAV) of its listed holdings rather than a consolidated P/E — see the in-depth valuation for the detailed basis.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Daelim 48.27% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 55.53%
With the controlling bloc holding 56%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
Net asset value (NAV) assessment Fairly valued
💡 How to read a holding company · A holding company owns stakes in several subsidiaries. Its P/E swings with equity-method gains and losses on those stakes, so read it only as a rough guide. P/B is more meaningful because subsidiary stakes sit in equity, but book value carries them at low historical cost (so P/B looks higher than reality). The most accurate view is the price against the market value of those stakes (NAV) ↓
Valued against the net asset value (NAV) of its listed holdings rather than a consolidated P/E — see the in-depth valuation for the detailed basis.
Listed subsidiaries ownership
| DL E&C | 23.15% |
| DL E&C | 0.63% |
🔎 In-depth analysis
- DL sits at the very top of the group as a holding company.
- Owning subsidiary stakes and collecting dividend and trademark income is a holding company's basic revenue source.
- But DL is not a pure holding company: it wholly owns (100%) the petrochemical subsidiary DL Chemical, whose results are consolidated.
- The reason it is officially classified as 'chemicals' is precisely that this petrochemical business is a major revenue axis.
- Another core is the listed construction firm DL E&C.
- DL is the largest shareholder of DL E&C with a stake of about 22%, and the value of this builder of apartments, plants, and civil works explains a large part of DL's share price.
- Beyond this, it controls DL Energy in power generation, Glad Hotel & Resort in hotels, and DL Motors in auto parts.
- In sum, DL's revenue comes from two streams: the petrochemicals it runs directly, and the results and dividends of subsidiaries such as construction.
- The latest close is ₩42,500 and market cap is ₩890.6 billion.
- The price sits below the 20-day line (₩47,262) and below the 60-day line (₩56,022).
- Trading beneath both the short- and mid-term moving averages, the trend is on the subdued side.
- The RSI (a supplementary gauge that scores upward versus downward strength over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 37.3, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is -10.7%, the three-month change is -33.9%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -44.7%.
- Relative strength versus KOSPI is 42 (1-99, computed from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 58% of all stocks by strength.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 48.8%.
- Chart reading is best done alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- The P/B (how many times book net assets the price represents) is 0.22x, less than a quarter of book value.
- On the numbers alone this looks very low, but a holding company requires care in interpretation.
- Subsidiary stakes are usually recorded on the books at original acquisition cost, creating the illusion that net assets look smaller than their true market value.
- So a P/B of 0.24x cannot immediately be called 'cheap'; it must be read via the NAV discussed later.
- On profitability, 2025 was in the red with a net loss (-₩88.0 billion) and an ROE (how much is earned on equity in a year) of -2.2%.
- The operating margin of 5.6% means it was profitable at the operating stage, but petrochemical weakness and some losses dragged down the bottom line.
- On the debt side, net debt (total borrowings minus cash) is about ₩4.4 trillion.
- Most of this debt arose at the business stages such as petrochemicals and construction, and is different in nature from debt of the holding company standing alone.
- EV/EBIT (enterprise value divided by operating profit, a debt-inclusive analog of P/E) is 18.1x and EV/Sales (enterprise value divided by revenue) is 1.0x.
- Notably, the FCF yield (real cash earned relative to market cap; higher means more cash-generation appeal) is high at about 29%.
- Accounting net profit was in the red, but real cash keeps coming in, which points to the holding company's dividend capacity and financial buffer.
- The top line is in a stagnant-to-declining phase.
- In 2025 revenue fell 5.1% year over year (with a mixed three-year trend), and operating profit dropped 27.6%.
- Net profit flipped from a ₩89.4 billion profit in 2024 to an ₩88.0 billion loss in 2025.
- Behind this is the petrochemical downcycle.
- As margins on basic feedstocks like ethylene stayed pressed below breakeven, the results of the wholly owned DL Chemical ate into group net profit.
- The most recent quarter (Q1 2026), however, points a different way.
- Cumulative revenue fell 7.5% year over year, but operating profit rose 7.1%, and net profit turned to a profit of about ₩12.1 billion — a signal of a swing from last year's loss back to profit.
- The key is durability.
- Because net profit is heavily swayed by the petrochemical cycle and construction-subsidiary results, the quarter-to-quarter amplitude is large.
- Petrochemicals face continuing Chinese capacity additions, so the oversupply is unlikely to unwind throughout 2026.
- On the other hand, orders keep flowing to the construction subsidiary DL E&C, so the tug-of-war between these two currents will decide the direction of this year's earnings.
- Recent disclosures are dominated by the construction subsidiary's order news.
- Several 'key subsidiary management matter' disclosures, in which the holding company reports on behalf of the subsidiary (DL E&C) its large single-sale supply contracts, ran across May and June.
- This is a signal that the construction unit's workload keeps being filled, providing a prop for subsidiary results.
- In May, a corporate governance report and a large business group status disclosure appeared together — periodic disclosures that reconfirm DL as the holding company at the apex of the group's ownership structure.
- A Q1 report (as of March 2026) was also filed the same month, containing the return-to-profit results noted above.
- Separately, there was a disclosure of a serious industrial accident at a subsidiary's site.
- Given the nature of the construction industry, safety management is an ever-present risk factor that can affect subsidiary results and reputation.
- DL is a company hard to size up by an earnings multiple (P/E), because net profit swings between profit and loss with the petrochemical cycle and subsidiary results.
- So the proper approach for a holding company is NAV (net asset value), which sums the value of its holdings.
- The conditions under which it can be strong are these.
- If the construction results and orders of the listed subsidiary DL E&C improve, the value of that holding rises.
- If petrochemical margins bottom and turn, DL Chemical shifts to contributing profit.
- Add shareholder returns such as dividend expansion or treasury-share retirement, and the undervaluation typical of holding companies can narrow.
- Indeed, cash generation (an FCF yield of about 29%) supports this capacity.
- The conditions under which it can be weak are also clear.
- If the petrochemical oversupply deepens, subsidiary losses keep dragging down group net profit.
- A holding company structurally carries a 'holding discount,' with the share price marked cheaper than the market value of its holdings.
- Safety and cost risks at construction sites also persist.
- All told, DL looks superficially cheap because of its low book P/B, but much of that undervaluation is explained by the uncertainty of unlisted petrochemicals and the holding discount.
- It is not a flashy growth stock but a company to judge by asset value and whether its subsidiaries recover.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Fairly valued
A substantive comparison as a holding company and conglomerate. Set alongside the listed core subsidiary (construction) and other holding companies.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| DL E&C | 6.47x | 0.46x | 7.06% |
| Lotte Corporation | 0.00x | 0.38x | -10.66% |
| LX International | 10.15x | 0.52x | 5.12% |
A P/B of 0.24x and P/S of 0.18x alone look very cheap, but a holding company's book equity carries subsidiary stakes at acquisition cost, creating an illusion of undervaluation. So it is right to judge by NAV — summing the market value of the holdings — rather than by an earnings multiple or book value. The value of the listed holdings (chiefly the construction subsidiary DL E&C) explains about 60% of market cap, and the remaining roughly 40% is business value from unlisted petrochemicals (DL Chemical) and the like. The listed subsidiary DL E&C itself trades at a low multiple to expected earnings, so the value of that stake is sound. But taking together that the unlisted petrochemical value is uncertain amid a weak cycle and that a holding-company discount is ever-present, it is a more balanced call to view the stock as fairly valued rather than accepting the surface undervaluation at face value. Because 2025 last-year results were a net loss, an earnings multiple cannot even be derived, which is itself a reason it is hard to argue under- or overvaluation and which further underscores the need for a NAV lens.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩42,500 and the market capitalization is ₩890.6 billion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩47,262) and below its 60-day moving average (₩56,022). It is under both its short- and medium-term moving averages, so the trend looks subdued. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 37.3, a neutral level. The one-month change is -10.7%, the three-month change is -33.9%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -44.7%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 42 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market). It is stronger than roughly 42% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 48.8%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Relative performance stock vs index · start = 100
Excess return vs index · 3M -48.76% / 6M -27.54% / 12M -64.66%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
A net loss makes the P/E an unreliable valuation gauge. The P/B of 0.22x is below the sector median (0.97x).
Enterprise value (EV)
EV = market cap + net debt. It reflects cash and debt, so it captures the real cost of the whole business that market cap alone misses; lower multiples are cheaper relative to earnings or sales.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is -2.2%, below the sector average (4.0%). The operating margin is 5.6%. The debt ratio is 180.6%, so the financial structure is moderate.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.3B | $3.7B | $3.5B | -5.14% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $99.9M | $273.4M | $197.9M | -27.63% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | -$88.4M | $59.2M | -$58.3M | -198.48% |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.6B | $3.4B | $3.3B | $3.7B | $3.5B |
| Operating profit | $128.0M | $190.5M | $99.9M | $273.4M | $197.9M |
| Net profit | $477.4M | $47.9M | -$88.4M | $59.2M | -$58.3M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 22.59% | ||||
Revenue fell 5.1% year over year (2023 ₩5.0 trillion → 2024 ₩5.6 trillion → 2025 ₩5.3 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'mixed'. The rate of decline widened from the prior year. Operating profit fell 27.6% year over year. The decline widened. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 22.6%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 3.0%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 7.5% lower than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- —
Points to watch
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- The most recent full year was a loss, so it is worth checking whether profitability recovers.
- Revenue fell 5.1% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-06-05UpdateThe holding company disclosed, as a key subsidiary management matter, that the construction subsidiary DL E&C signed a large single-sale supply contractSecuring construction workload is a prop for subsidiary results. Positive for the value of the holding company's stake Source
- 2026-05-29FilingCorporate governance report and large business group status disclosure filed. Confirms DL as the holding company at the apex of the groupA periodic disclosure on governance transparency. Reconfirms the holding-company character Source
- 2026-05-26UpdateDisclosed, as a key subsidiary management matter, a serious industrial accident at a subsidiary's siteA construction-industry safety-management risk. An ever-present factor that can be negative for subsidiary results and reputation Source
- 2026-05-15EarningsQ1 2026 report filed. Net profit of about ₩12.1 billion, a return to profit, with operating profit up 7.1% year over yearA directional shift from the 2025 net loss to profit. Durability hinges on the petrochemical and construction cycles Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-06-05Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-05-29Disclosure
- 2026-05-29Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-29Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-29Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-28Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-05-26Disclosure
- 2026-05-22Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-05-20Single supply/sales contract (amended)
- 2026-05-20Single supply/sales contract (amended)
- 2026-05-19Single supply/sales contract (amended)
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
📖 Plain-language glossary — expand if you are new to this
- P/E
- How many times a year's net profit the price is worth (lower is cheaper relative to earnings). The P/E here is on trailing (last full-year) results; for companies whose earnings swing fast (memory chips and other cyclicals/high-growth), a forward P/E on this year's expected earnings is more accurate.
- P/B
- Price relative to net assets (equity). Around 1x means it trades near book value; below 1x means below book.
- P/S
- Price relative to a year's revenue — useful for growth companies with thin earnings.
- Net debt / EV
- Net debt = interest-bearing debt − cash. Negative means more cash than debt (net cash). EV (enterprise value) = market cap + net debt, closer to what it would cost to buy the whole business.
- EV/EBIT · EV/EBITDA · EV/Sales
- Enterprise value against operating profit (EBIT), EBITDA, or revenue. Unlike P/E these reflect debt and cash; lower is cheaper relative to earnings power or sales.
- FCF / FCF yield
- Free cash flow = operating cash − capex, the cash actually left over. FCF yield = FCF ÷ market cap; higher means more cash generated per unit of market value.
- Intrinsic value (DCF)
- Future free cash flow (or, for some capex-heavy but profitable names, forecast earnings) discounted to today to estimate per-share value. Because it shifts a lot with the discount-rate and growth assumptions, it is shown as a bear/base/bull range, and the basis and assumptions are disclosed in one line beneath it.
- ROE
- How much profit the company earns in a year on its equity (%). Higher means better returns on capital.
- EPS / BPS
- Earnings per share / net assets (book value) per share.
- Operating / net margin
- Profit left from the core business / final profit after tax and interest, per unit of revenue.
- Debt ratio
- Debt relative to equity (%). Higher means more reliance on borrowing (norms vary by sector).
- Current ratio
- Assets convertible to cash within a year against debt due within a year. Above 100% leaves some short-term headroom.
- Interest coverage
- How many times operating profit covers the interest owed. Below 1x means operating profit alone struggles to cover interest.
- Dividend yield / payout ratio
- The year's dividend as a % of today's price / the share of earnings paid out as dividends.
- Revenue CAGR
- Multi-year growth expressed as a single yearly average (compound annual growth rate).
- RSI (short-term signal)
- Whether recent price action is overheated or beaten down. Above 70 is overbought, below 30 oversold.
- MA20 / MA60 (moving averages)
- The 20- and 60-day average price. Price above them signals a firmer short-term trend.
- vs 52-week high
- How far below the past year's peak the price sits now (%).
All figures are for reference only; how they read varies by sector and over time.
Sources: Korea FSC market-price API (data.go.kr), OpenDART, KRX/KIND — public data only.
Bong Stocks presents public-data-based information for reference only. It is not investment advice and contains no target prices, ratings, or buy/sell recommendations. Verify independently before making any decision.