Korea Alcohol Industrial is a fine-chemicals company in the Ulsan petrochemical complex that makes potable alcohol (ethanol) and solvents such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate; it is effectively the only domestic maker of these two solvents, and adds color paste and electronic-grade fine-chemical materials to its revenue, so the spread between raw-material cost and selling price drives its profit. The 2025 business report confirmed a second straight year of profit growth, the May quarterly report showed margin improvement in numbers with Q1 operating profit +62.7% and net profit +38.7%, and in June the board resolved to convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting. The key point to watch is that with nearly debt-free finances, a P/B of 0.44x, and a forward P/E that has come down as profit rose despite flat revenue, plus the position of sole domestic maker, the undervaluation is clear, whereas because profit rests on the spread rather than on volume expansion, a raw-material price spike or a slowdown in downstream demand that narrows the spread would make the flat revenue stand out more.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Debt ratio, current ratio and interest burden all look healthy.
- Revenue rose 0.7% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: mixed).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 0.6% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 5.7% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 7.5%.
- The P/E sits below the sector median.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder KC&A 34.01% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 39.43%
With the controlling bloc holding 39%, the ownership structure is stable.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- Korea Alcohol Industrial is a fine-chemicals company in the Ulsan petrochemical complex that makes and sells potable alcohol (hydrous and anhydrous ethanol) and solvents such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate.
- The alcohol is used as a raw material for food and beverages, disinfection, and industrial uses, while ethyl acetate and butyl acetate are solvents that go into paint, ink, adhesives, and cleaners; the company is effectively the only domestic maker of these two solvents.
- To this it adds color paste and electronic-grade fine-chemical materials (high-purity chemicals used in semiconductor and display processes) to make up its revenue.
- Because it ferments, refines, and synthesizes raw materials originating from grain and crude oil into value-added chemicals for sale, the spread between raw-material (ethanol, acetic acid, etc.) prices and product selling prices drives profit.
- The latest close is ₩12,970 and the market cap is ₩275.9 billion.
- The price sits above its 20-day line (₩12,109) and above its 60-day line (₩12,397).
- Being above both its short- and mid-term moving averages, the trend is favorable.
- The RSI (a supplementary gauge that scores the balance of up-days versus down-days over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 57.5, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is +4.6%, the three-month change is +19.9%, and the position versus the 52-week high is -8.7%.
- Relative strength against the KOSDAQ is 89 (1-99, computed from returns against the index over the past year with recent performance weighted more heavily; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 10% of all stocks by strength.
- Over the past three months it has led the index by 57.8%.
- Chart readings are best interpreted alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- Financial strength is solid.
- The debt ratio (debt against equity) is very low at 20.3%, the current ratio (assets readily usable against debt due within a year) is 481%, and the interest coverage ratio (how many times operating profit covers interest) is 9.45x, so the debt burden is almost nil.
- On valuation, the P/E ratio (how many times a year's profit the share price represents) is 7.68x on last year's confirmed profit, and the P/B ratio (how many times net assets the share price represents) is 0.52x.
- Trading at less than half of net assets, it is clearly cheap relative to assets.
- Going a step further, the forward P/E reflecting this year's rising profit is even lower.
- For an inflection stock like Korea Alcohol Industrial, where revenue is flat but profit is rising quickly, the forward P/E on this year's profit shows the real value better than a P/E calculated on last year's numbers.
- ROE (how much is earned on equity in a year) of 5.7% is not dazzling but exceeds the sector average.
- In sum, it carries little debt and is cheap on both an asset basis and this year's profit basis.
- Revenue and profit draw different pictures.
- Revenue has been walking sideways in the ₩420 billion range since 2022 (as the five-year path ₩501.7 billion → ₩512.7 billion → ₩438.3 billion → ₩421.0 billion → ₩423.9 billion shows), with a 2025 growth rate of +0.7%.
- Profit, by contrast, is clearly rising.
- Operating profit grew for two straight years, from ₩21.9 billion (2023) → ₩27.4 billion (2024) → ₩31.8 billion (2025), and net profit recovered quickly from ₩10.1 billion → ₩24.5 billion → ₩30.6 billion.
- In Q1 2026, with revenue nearly flat at +0.6%, operating profit jumped +62.7% and net profit +38.7%, making the flow of 'flat revenue, improving margins' clearer still.
- The reason is simple.
- The company's profit comes from the spread, the gap between raw-material cost and selling price, and with raw-material costs stable and, as the sole domestic maker, its solvent selling prices held, that gap widened.
- The forward profit rising above last year, bringing the forward P/E down, is likewise because this margin improvement was already confirmed in numbers in Q1.
- In other words, this year's profit expectation is not a vague extrapolation but a figure backed by quarterly results.
- Still, because this improvement came from a wider spread rather than higher volume, whether it leads to revenue expansion is best watched quarter by quarter.
- Recent disclosures mix a regular flow with governance agenda items.
- The March regular shareholders' meeting and the 2025 business report closed out the year, confirming a second straight year of profit growth, and two IR sessions in March and May offered venues to explain the business and results directly.
- The May quarterly report confirmed the Q1 profit surge (operating profit +62.7%, net profit +38.7%) in numbers.
- On June 4, the board resolved to convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting and set a record date for the shareholder register, beginning the procedure to handle a separate agenda after the regular meeting.
- Meanwhile, several major-shareholding reports were filed from March to May, so continued changes in major shareholders' stakes are also a point to watch alongside.
- The strengths are distinct: nearly debt-free finances, a P/B of 0.44x below half of net assets, and a forward P/E that has come down as profit rose despite flat revenue.
- Its position as the only domestic maker of ethyl acetate and butyl acetate is the basis for holding selling prices, and the Q1 margin improvement was confirmed by already-reported results rather than an estimate.
- It is cheap on both an asset basis and this year's profit basis, so the undervaluation is clear.
- A point to examine is that profit rests on the spread (the raw-material-to-price gap) rather than volume expansion.
- Because the spread moves with raw-material prices, foreign exchange, and downstream demand, in a phase where raw-material costs are stable and solvent margins are maintained the undervaluation appeal shows through as is, whereas a raw-material price spike or a slowdown in downstream demand that narrows the spread would make the flat revenue stand out more.
- Either way, the starting point is 'a solid financial footing and a cheap price.'
🔎 Valuation vs peers Undervalued
Rather than large-scale commodity petrochemicals, the peer set is fine and basic chemical makers (solvents, functional materials) of similar size.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| KPX Chemical | 4.35x | 0.34x | 7.72% |
| Unid | 6.45x | 0.39x | 6.03% |
| Cosmo Chemical | 0.00x | 1.66x | -13.80% |
Against similarly sized fine and basic chemical makers KPX Chemical (P/E 4.4, P/B 0.34) and Unid (P/E 7.2, P/B 0.43), Korea Alcohol Industrial's P/E of 8.5 and P/B of 0.49 sit at a middle-to-somewhat-higher position among peers, but with a P/B below 0.5x it is still in discount territory relative to net assets. Its ROE of 5.7% is at a level similar to peers, so the P/B discount appears to reflect together the point that 'assets are ample but the return is ordinary.' Still, the P/E of 8.5x is on a 2025 confirmed-profit (trailing) basis, so in a phase where profit is rising as in Q1, the burden could fall further when viewed on this year's expected profit (in an inflection phase, the trailing P/E makes it look more expensive than it is). Considering the financial stability and the discount to net assets, on the asset-value side it can be seen as undervalued territory, but there is a two-sided aspect in that, as long as revenue stagnation continues, it is not easy for the multiple to be substantially re-valued.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩12,970 and the market capitalization is ₩275.9 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩12,109) and above its 60-day moving average (₩12,397). 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 57.5, a neutral level. The one-month change is +4.6%, the three-month change is +19.9%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -8.7%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 89 (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 90% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 57.8%. 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 +57.83% / 6M +50.30% / 12M +26.68%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 9.00x is below the sector median (14.79x). The P/B of 0.52x is below the sector median (0.97x). Both metrics are low versus peers, so the price is not expensive relative to earnings and assets. That said, this P/E is based on last year's (trailing) results. With recent quarterly earnings up sharply, the trailing P/E can look higher than it really is, so a precise read is best done on this year's expected (forward) earnings.
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 5.7%, above the sector average (4.0%). The operating margin is 7.5%. The debt ratio is 20.3%, so the financial structure is stable.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $290.5M | $279.0M | $280.9M | +0.68% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $14.5M | $18.2M | $21.1M | +15.97% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $6.7M | $16.3M | $20.3M | +24.85% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $332.5M | $339.8M | $290.5M | $279.0M | $280.9M |
| Operating profit | $35.8M | $16.7M | $14.5M | $18.2M | $21.1M |
| Net profit | $30.4M | $20.1M | $6.7M | $16.3M | $20.3M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg -4.12% | ||||
Revenue rose 0.7% year over year (2023 ₩438.3 billion → 2024 ₩421.0 billion → 2025 ₩423.9 billion), and the three-year trend is 'mixed'. The pace of growth also quickened from the prior year. Operating profit rose 16.0% year over year. The pace of that profit growth is gradually easing. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is -4.1%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -1.7%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 0.6% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- P/E and P/B are both low versus peers, so the price looks inexpensive relative to earnings and assets.
- The balance sheet is stable in terms of debt and liquidity.
Points to watch
- The figures shown are based on the last annual report as of the writing date, so it is best to review the latest quarterly results and filings alongside them.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-06-04FilingResolution to convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting and set a record date (register closure) — beginning the procedure to handle a separate agenda after the regular meetingNear-term, an event that could draw more shareholder attention depending on the agenda content, such as governance, articles of incorporation, or personnel. Until the agenda is fixed, the direction of the impact is open. Source
- 2026-05-14EarningsQ1 2026 quarterly report filed — revenue of ₩109.0 billion (+0.6%), operating profit of ₩10.7 billion (+62.7%), net profit of ₩13.3 billion (+38.7%)Confirming a large margin improvement amid flat revenue is positive for medium-term profit power. Still, the durability of the quarterly margin needs verification in the next quarter. Source
- 2026-05-14IRInvestor-relations (IR) session held — a venue for the company to explain itself alongside the quarterly results releaseA venue where the company explains its business and results directly, neutral to positive in terms of information access. Source
- 2026-05-12FilingMajor shareholding report (abbreviated form) filed — report of changes in major shareholders' stakesMultiple stake-change reports from March to May suggest possible changes from a supply-demand and governance perspective. The near-term impact varies with the party and scale of the change. Source
- 2026-03-18Filing2025 business report filed — revenue of ₩423.9 billion, operating profit of ₩31.8 billion, net profit of ₩30.6 billion, confirming the profit recoveryConfirms a second straight year of operating- and net-profit growth, clarifying the starting point of the margin-improvement trend. A medium-term fundamental base. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-06-04Disclosure
- 2026-06-04Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-05-14Disclosure
- 2026-05-14PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-12OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-04-22OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-04-08OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-03-26OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-03-26Disclosure
- 2026-03-26Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-19Disclosure
- 2026-03-18PeriodicAnnual business 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.