KISCO Holdings (001940) 🔎 In-depth
KOSPI · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
KISCO Holdings is a holding company whose core subsidiary, Korea Iron & Steel, makes construction rebar, so its results are effectively driven by the steel subsidiary's business and, within that, by construction activity and rebar market conditions, with consolidated revenue falling from ₩1.5 trillion in 2023 to ₩825.3 billion in 2025. On June 9, officers and the board successively disclosed trust contracts to acquire treasury shares, on March 27 a dividend of ₩1,850 per share was resolved, and the May 15 Q1 report confirmed a revenue rebound (+6.5%), but with operating losses continuing through 2024-2025, results are passing through a trough. What stands out recently is that the strengths of an asset play are clear - the share price is only 0.29x net assets, the balance sheet is very solid with a debt ratio of 14% and a current ratio of 1,153%, and the dividend yield is about 7.6% - whereas it is not currently a profit-generating state, so if construction and steel conditions sink further, losses could drag on and strain dividend capacity.
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30-second brief
Pulled directly from the computed values below — not a separately written opinion.
What do the SourceComputedEstimateReading tags mean?
Source filings and exchange data · Computed calculated from public data · Estimate our own unverified projection · Reading drafted automatically, then rule-checked. See AI & Automation.
Core valuation metric
This stock's effective sub-sector is “Steel & Metals” (Chemicals, Refining, Steel & Materials), a type typically read first through P/B.
Steel and metals swing hard with raw-material prices and downstream demand, so profits balloon in upturns and can flip to losses in downturns. Because earnings are so volatile, price-to-book (P/B) — the share price against the value of plant and assets — is the first lens.
That said, earnings are swinging with the industry cycle right now, so this metric is best viewed alongside asset value and the demand backdrop.
This note explains how each sector is typically valued and is educational context only, not investment advice.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- Revenue fell 18.6% year over year (3-year trend: falling).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 6.5% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is -1.6% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is -8.6%.
- P/E is hard to compute here, so this is read on P/B.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Jang Se-hong 45.58% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 55.82%
With the controlling bloc holding 56%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
Net asset value (NAV) assessment
💡 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
| Korea Steel | 60.34% |
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
KISCO Holdings is less a company that sells products directly than a holding company overseeing steel affiliates. The group's core subsidiary is Korea Iron & Steel, which makes construction rebar (steel bars placed inside concrete to hold the structure together, and the like). KISCO Holdings' results are therefore effectively driven by the steel subsidiary's business and, within that, by construction activity and rebar market conditions. That consolidated revenue fell from ₩1.5 trillion in 2023 to ₩825.3 billion in 2025 is also a direct reflection of the construction slowdown and weak rebar market. In short, looking at this company is closer in character to taking on construction and steel assets cheaply in holding-company form.
The latest close is ₩26,700 and the market capitalization is ₩378.5 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩25,878) and above its 60-day moving average (₩24,342). It holds above both its short- and medium-term moving averages, so the trend looks healthy. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 58.1, a neutral level. The one-month change is +2.1%, the three-month change is +4.5%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -5.0%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 47 (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 46% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 26.0%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Because operations are currently at a loss, the P/E ratio (how many times one year of profit the share price represents) cannot be calculated. The key metric to watch instead is the P/B (how many times net assets per share the share price represents), which is 0.29x. That means it trades at about a third of the company's net assets (roughly ₩80,000 per share), clearly a cheap zone relative to assets. The debt ratio (debt relative to equity) is very low at 14.2%, and the current ratio (assets soon convertible to cash relative to debt due within a year) is ample at 1,153%, giving it a solid balance sheet with almost no risk of being shaken by debt. That said, ROE (the rate earned in a year on shareholders' equity) is -1.6% and the operating margin is -8.6%, so while the assets are sturdy, it is not making money right now. In other words, this is accurately viewed not as a stock that is a burden because it is expensive, but as an asset play that is cheap but not yet generating profit.
Consolidated revenue moved from ₩1.58 trillion in 2021 to ₩1.81 trillion in 2022, ₩1.54 trillion in 2023, ₩1.01 trillion in 2024, and ₩825.3 billion in 2025, declining steadily after peaking in 2022 (a -26.8% annual average over the past two years). Operating profit also deepened into losses, from a profit of about ₩149.3 billion in 2023 to -₩3.6 billion in 2024 and -₩70.7 billion in 2025. This is the result of a construction slowdown overlapping with falling rebar unit prices, a signal closer to being at the trough of the steel-industry cycle than a problem with the company itself. Indeed, in the most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was about ₩203.0 billion, up 6.5% year on year, so the decline has stopped. The quarterly bottom line is still a loss (-₩17.3 billion), but the fact that revenue has begun to grow again can be read as an early change of the industry stabilizing at a bottom. That said, whether this year's profit turns to a surplus depends on the pace of the steel and construction recovery, so while the direction of recovery is visible, its magnitude and timing are still too early to confirm.
Recent disclosures weigh toward asset value and shareholder returns. On 2026-06-09, officers and the board successively disclosed the conclusion of trust contracts to acquire treasury shares, signaling that within the company the current share price is seen as undervalued. On May 15, the Q1 2026 report confirmed in numbers a revenue rebound (+6.5%), and on March 27 the regular shareholders' meeting resolved a dividend of ₩1,850 per share (about 8% of the share price at the time), continuing the high dividend. On March 19, the swing to a loss was formalized in the 2025 earnings. Tying the flow together, the picture is one of results passing through a trough while the company and its officers respond with shareholder returns and treasury shares grounded in asset value.
This stock's strengths are clear. The share price is only 0.29x net assets, the balance sheet is very solid with a debt ratio of 14% and a current ratio of 1,153%, and the dividend yield is high at about 7.6%. While the steel sector itself has low P/B ratios, it is cheap even compared with its core subsidiary Korea Iron & Steel (0.41x) or its peer Dongkuk Steel (0.26x), and it has the clear character of an asset play where one can collect a dividend while waiting for an industry recovery. On the other hand, the caution is that it is not currently in a profit-generating state. Operating losses continued through 2024-2025, and if construction and steel conditions sink further, losses could drag on and strain dividend capacity. In sum, when steel and construction conditions stabilize at a bottom and turn around, it is an asset play where the low P/B and high dividend shine together, whereas if the industry downturn drags on, the weak link is that the profit recovery is delayed. This is a stock where the assets are cheap and the dividend is high, but the earnings rebound hinges on the steel cycle.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
Viewing the base sector (semiconductor test components) as a misclassification, the peer set was built on the actual business, steel (construction rebar and bar steel) and the holding structure, comparing first against the core subsidiary Korea Iron & Steel and the same steel peer group.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korea Steel | 0.00x | 0.47x | -1.16% |
| Kiswire | 48.36x | 0.25x | 1.31% |
| Poongsan | 15.96x | 1.00x | 7.82% |
(a) Position versus peers: the P/B of 0.29x is a low-P/B zone similar to the core subsidiary Korea Iron & Steel (0.41x) and Kiswire (0.28x), and is on the low side even within the steel peer group. (b) Premium/discount: versus a profitable steel maker like Poongsan (0.9x) it is at a clear discount, a result reflecting the losses and the sharp revenue decline. (c) Limits of trailing figures and the forward basis: with the 2025 loss, the P/E is not produced, and as steel is a cyclical industry, it is hard to conclude normal earning power from trailing figures during a loss phase alone. With no official company outlook for the future, one could only gauge revenue of about ₩806.8 billion via a DART seasonality approximation (this year's Q1 confirmed results applied with the past three years' quarterly ratios), and profit was not produced given the many loss-making quarters. Accordingly, rather than concluding cheap or expensive, it is left Inconclusive.
Earnings outlook Estimate company-stated · verified
| Type | Period | Revenue | Operating profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next quarter | Q2 2026 | ₩214.5 billion | — | — |
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩26,700 and the market capitalization is ₩378.5 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩25,878) and above its 60-day moving average (₩24,342). It holds above both its short- and medium-term moving averages, so the trend looks healthy. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 58.1, a neutral level. The one-month change is +2.1%, the three-month change is +4.5%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -5.0%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 47 (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 46% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 26.0%. 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 +26.04% / 6M -7.94% / 12M -44.80%
Key metrics Computed vs sector median
Valuation
A net loss makes the P/E an unreliable valuation gauge. The P/B of 0.34x is below the sector median (0.45x).
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.
Intrinsic value (DCF estimate) Estimate
Model output — not a price target. This is what the formula returns under the assumptions below, not a view on where the share price should go.
DCF (discounted cash flow) estimate — discount rate 10.1%, initial growth 4.0%→terminal 2.0%, 10-yr forecast, free-cash-flow basis. A reference range that shifts materially with assumptions.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is -1.6%, below the sector average (1.0%). The operating margin is -8.6%. The debt ratio is 16.3%, so the financial structure is stable.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.1B | $711.8M | $579.7M | -18.55% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $104.9M | -$2.5M | -$49.7M | — |
| Net profit | $63.9M | $22.8M | -$12.8M | -156.28% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.1B | $1.3B | $1.1B | $711.8M | $579.7M |
| Operating profit | $141.0M | $139.0M | $104.9M | -$2.5M | -$49.7M |
| Net profit | $79.9M | $56.1M | $63.9M | $22.8M | -$12.8M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg -15.00% | ||||
Revenue fell 18.6% year over year (2023 ₩1.5 trillion → 2024 ₩1.0 trillion → 2025 ₩825.3 billion), and the three-year trend is 'falling'. That said, the rate of decline narrowed from the prior year. Operating results are in the red, so a swing back to profit matters more than the growth rate here. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is -15.0%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -26.8%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 6.5% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Source Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators Computed
What stands out
- The dividend yield, at 6.9%, is on the high side.
Points to watch
- The most recent full year was a loss, so it is worth checking whether profitability recovers.
- Revenue fell 18.6% year over year (3-year trend: falling).
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-06-09UpdateThe holding company resolved to conclude a trust contract to acquire treasury shares (for shareholder-return purposes).Positive for short-term supply and demand, and it shows a will for shareholder returns even in a loss phase. That said, as it is a cash outflow, it should be viewed alongside dividend capacity. Source
- 2026-06-09UpdateThe subsidiary also resolved to conclude a trust contract to acquire treasury shares on the same day (a material management matter of the subsidiary).With the holding company and subsidiary buying treasury shares simultaneously, it is interpreted as a group-wide shareholder-return signal. Source
- 2026-05-15EarningsThe Q1 2026 quarterly report confirmed revenue of ₩203.0 billion (+6.5% year on year) and a continued operating loss.The revenue decline has stopped and rebounded slightly, but the loss continues, so the timing of a swing to profit is the key item to confirm. Source
- 2026-03-27DividendThe regular shareholders' meeting resolved the 2025 year-end dividend (₩1,850 per share).At a dividend yield of about 8.0% on the current price, the return appeal is large, while if the loss continues, the sustainability of the dividend source needs to be checked. Source
- 2026-03-19EarningsThe 2025 business report formalized an annual swing to a loss, with consolidated revenue of ₩825.3 billion and an operating loss of ₩70.7 billion.The core-business weakness from the construction slowdown was confirmed on an annual basis, so whether industry conditions rebound becomes the premise for an earnings recovery. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings Source
- 2026-06-09TreasuryMaterial-fact report
- 2026-06-09TreasuryMaterial-fact report
- 2026-05-29Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-03-30OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-03-30Disclosure
- 2026-03-27Disclosure
- 2026-03-27Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-23Amended filing
- 2026-03-23Amended filing
- 2026-03-19PeriodicAnnual business report
- 2026-03-19Audit 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.