SKC (011790) 🔎 In-depth
KOSPI · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
SKC runs four lines of business: copper foil (thin copper film for battery anodes) made by its subsidiary SK Nexilis, semiconductor materials with operating margins in the 20% range, chemicals, and semiconductor glass substrates that its subsidiary Absolics is preparing in the United States. The company is in a transition, shifting its center of gravity from a “copper-foil and chemicals company” toward a “semiconductor-materials and glass-substrate company.” In 2026 a rights offering of about ₩1,167.1 billion allocated roughly half to the glass-substrate business and the rest to repaying borrowings, sharply lowering its debt ratio. Meanwhile Absolics is supplying next-generation glass-substrate prototypes to a U.S. communications-chip company and is undergoing customer reliability evaluation. The points worth noting are that steady profit from semiconductor materials and a recovery in copper foil are showing up in results, and it is strong if the glass substrate passes customer qualification — but it is still loss-making on an annual basis, the timing and scale of glass-substrate commercialization are uncertain, and expectations are already reflected in the share price, so it can weaken if commercialization is delayed.
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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 “Copper Foil” (Secondary Batteries · Battery Materials, Parts & Equipment), a type typically read first through EV/EBITDA.
Copper-foil production is capital-intensive, carrying big plant and depreciation costs, so net income alone understates the core business's cash generation. That makes EV/EBITDA — operating cash before depreciation, together with debt — the first lens.
Price against earnings alone becomes unstable when earnings swing. Reading it together with price against assets helps gauge the downside.
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
- Debt far exceeds equity (debt ratio 569.5%).
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 66.0%).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- Revenue rose 7.1% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 13.4% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is -88.3% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is -16.6%.
- A sector-metric and in-depth research verdict — see “Valuation vs peers” below for the basis.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder SK 40.64% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 40.88%
With the controlling bloc holding 41%, the ownership structure is stable.
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
SKC earns money — or prepares for the future — across four lines. First, its battery-materials business is the copper foil (thin copper film used in battery anodes) made by subsidiary SK Nexilis; lately North American ESS (energy storage system) demand, more than electric vehicles, has been driving sales volume. Second, semiconductor materials, which include test sockets and carry operating margins in the 20% range, are the group's most consistently profitable pillar. Third, chemicals (the propylene-oxide family), once the mainstay, have shrunk as a share of revenue during the business restructuring. Fourth, the semiconductor “glass substrate” that subsidiary Absolics is preparing in the United States generates little revenue yet but is the core of the company's growth story, with prototype supply to a U.S. communications-chip customer and reliability evaluation under way. In short, today's SKC is in a transition, shifting its center of gravity from a “copper-foil and chemicals company” toward a “semiconductor-materials and glass-substrate company.”
The latest close is ₩80,300 and the market capitalization is ₩4.0 trillion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩80,440) and below its 60-day moving average (₩111,833). 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 44.5, a neutral level. The one-month change is -17.2%, the three-month change is -50.2%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -53.9%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 8 (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 7% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 45.1%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Starting with the valuation metrics: because of the loss, the P/E ratio (how many times one year of profit the price represents) cannot be calculated, the P/B (how many times book net assets the price represents) is 4.77x, and the P/S (how many times one year of revenue the price represents) is 2.82x. Profitability is still difficult. In 2025 ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) was -88.3%, the operating margin was -16.6% and the net margin was -39.9%, a large loss. On the standard classification, the debt ratio (debt against equity) reads 566.6%, a figure inflated by equity thinned by losses; the company used a large part of the funds raised in the 2026 rights offering (about ₩577.5 billion) to repay borrowings, sharply reducing the debt burden. One caution here is the P/B of 6.24x. With book equity (BPS ₩16,776) thinned by cumulative losses, the market has layered expectations for the future glass-substrate business onto the price, so P/B alone creates the illusion that the stock is “more expensive than it really is.” In other words, this company is at a point where it is priced not by current earnings but by whether the transition succeeds.
Revenue looks to be firming a bottom and turning up. 2025 revenue rose 7.1% to ₩1.84 trillion, and Q1 2026 revenue grew 13.4% year on year. Over five years, however, revenue shrank from ₩3.14 trillion in 2022 as the chemicals and film businesses were wound down, and it is now rebuilding. Profit is not yet recovered. Operating profit stayed in the red — ₩-213 billion in 2023, ₩-275.8 billion in 2024, ₩-305 billion in 2025 — and the net loss was large in 2025 at ₩-734.4 billion. Even so, the Q1 2026 operating loss narrowed to ₩-28.7 billion from a year earlier, and on an EBITDA (cash-generating profit) basis it turned positive for the first time in several quarters. The picture ahead is one of continued revenue recovery, with copper-foil volume rising sharply led by North American ESS and semiconductor materials sustaining double-digit growth. Still, with early glass-substrate investment costs and financing burdens remaining, whether full-year 2026 profit and loss swings fully positive cannot be concluded from official company guidance. It is more accurate to leave this as “cannot confirm” than to fabricate a figure.
The biggest event of 2026 is the rights offering. Through a shareholder-allotment structure the company raised about ₩1,167.1 billion (roughly 11.73 million new shares at ₩99,500), allocating about half to the glass-substrate business (Absolics) and the rest to repaying borrowings. This sharply lowered the debt ratio that had been high at the end of last year, securing financial strength. On the business side, Absolics entered a new project by supplying next-generation “Non-Embedding” glass-substrate prototypes to a U.S. communications-chip company, with customer reliability evaluation under way. If it passes, the company could move into mass-production preparation as early as within the year. Beyond that, June brought several disclosures, including new share issuance from the exercise of conversion rights, changes in holdings by executives and major shareholders, and a treasury-stock status report.
The points to watch are clear. Strengths are: (1) revenue is growing again, led by copper foil and semiconductor materials; (2) the rights offering greatly eased the debt burden, reducing financial risk; (3) semiconductor materials provide a solid base with margins in the 20% range; and (4) the possibility of commercializing the differentiated future business of glass substrates is open. Cautions are: (1) it is still loss-making on an annual basis; (2) the timing and scale of glass-substrate commercialization are uncertain and not yet proven in results; and (3) the P/B looks high relative to peers, meaning expectations are already reflected in the price. In sum, SKC is a company priced now not by earnings metrics but by whether its transition succeeds. It is strong if steady profit from semiconductor materials and a recovery in copper foil are backed by results and the glass substrate passes customer qualification, and weak if commercialization is delayed or the loss runs longer than expected.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
Domestic materials companies viewed together for both copper foil (battery materials) and semiconductor/materials businesses.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lotte Energy Materials | 0.00x | 0.95x | -9.51% |
| Hansol Chemical | 17.25x | 2.19x | 13.99% |
| Cosmo AM&T | 0.00x | 2.21x | -0.11% |
(a) Compared with direct copper-foil rivals Lotte Energy Materials (P/B 1.38) or Cosmo AM&T (P/B 2.7), SKC's P/B of 6.24x looks high, and it is even higher than the profitable Hansol Chemical (P/B 3.2, ROE 13.6%). (b) That said, much of this premium is an illusion arising from expectations for the glass-substrate business, which is not yet on the books, and from equity thinned by cumulative losses. (c) Because of the loss the P/E cannot be calculated, and whether full-year 2026 profit and loss swings positive cannot be confirmed from official company guidance, so even on a forward basis it is hard to conclude “cheap or expensive.” In the end this is a stretch priced not by current earnings metrics but by whether the transition succeeds, so we do not conclude either under- or overvaluation and remain inconclusive.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩80,300 and the market capitalization is ₩4.0 trillion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩80,440) and below its 60-day moving average (₩111,833). 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 44.5, a neutral level. The one-month change is -17.2%, the three-month change is -50.2%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -53.9%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 8 (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 7% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 45.1%. 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 -45.13% / 6M -43.33% / 12M -59.74%
Key metrics Computed vs whole-market median
Valuation
A net loss makes the P/E an unreliable valuation gauge. The P/B of 4.77x is above the whole-market median (0.84x).
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 -88.3%, below the whole-market average (3.0%). The operating margin is -16.6%. The debt ratio is 569.5%, so the financial structure is somewhat high.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.0B | $1.2B | $1.3B | +7.11% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | -$149.6M | -$193.7M | -$214.3M | — |
| Net profit | -$193.6M | -$311.5M | -$515.9M | — |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.6B | $2.2B | $1.0B | $1.2B | $1.3B |
| Operating profit | $282.0M | $154.7M | -$149.6M | -$193.7M | -$214.3M |
| Net profit | $155.1M | -$48.0M | -$193.6M | -$311.5M | -$515.9M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg -5.05% | ||||
Revenue rose 7.1% year over year (2023 ₩1.5 trillion → 2024 ₩1.7 trillion → 2025 ₩1.8 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. That said, the pace of growth slowed 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 -5.1%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 11.1%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 13.4% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Source Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators Computed
What stands out
- —
Points to watch
- Debt far exceeds equity (debt ratio 569.5%).
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 66.0%).
- The most recent full year was a loss, so it is worth checking whether profitability recovers.
- Revenue rose 7.1% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-12FilingRights offering finalized — about 11.73 million new shares at ₩99,500, raising roughly ₩1,167.1 billion. Allocated to glass-substrate investment and repayment of borrowings.Repaying borrowings sharply lowered the debt burden and eased financial risk (medium-term positive), though the large new-share issuance dilutes existing holders and pressures the near-term share price. Source
- 2026-06-01FilingNew share issuance from the exercise of conversion rights (conversion of convertible bonds into shares).A slight dilution factor as share count rises, but debt-like capital converting into equity is positive for the financial structure. Source
- 2026-05-29FilingFiling of the large-enterprise-group status disclosure (Q1 listed companies) and several routine and ownership-related disclosures.For confirming intra-group holdings and transactions; limited direct impact on results. Source
- 2026-05-28FilingReports on changes in shares held by the largest shareholder and on holdings of specified securities by executives and major shareholders.For confirming governance and insider ownership changes; low direct connection to business results. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings Source
- 2026-06-09OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-06-09OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-06-02OwnershipAmended filing
- 2026-06-01Disclosure
- 2026-06-01Corporate governance report
- 2026-06-01OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-29OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-29OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-05-29Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-28OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-05-28OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-05-28OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings 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.