Daewoo E&C (047040) 🔎 In-depth
KOSPI · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
Daewoo E&C is a general contractor that directly builds apartments (the Prugio and Summit brands) and social infrastructure such as roads, bridges, LNG and nuclear plants; about two-thirds of revenue comes from housing and building construction, backed by civil engineering and plant work, and the order backlog and site-by-site cost control are the keys to earnings. After pre-emptively clearing out unsold-inventory and overseas losses last year, its first-quarter 2026 operating profit of ₩255.6 billion swung back to a profit, as confirmed in the quarterly report, and large order disclosures followed in April and May alongside contingent-liability items such as a debt-guarantee decision. The point to weigh in balance is the strength that, once losses are cleared and earnings normalize back to profit past the earnings trough, the P/B optical effect clears and the valuation burden is not large, against the caution that revenue has fallen for a third straight year so a profitability recovery is the key issue, and a 295% debt ratio and debt guarantees, or a domestic sales slowdown or a recurrence of overseas cost overruns, could shake profit again.
This page organises public market and filing data for information purposes. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell, nor investment advice. Metrics labelled “forward” are our own unverified estimates. Please verify with the original DART filings and decide at your own responsibility.
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 “General Construction” (Construction & Building Materials · Construction & Real Estate), a type typically read first through P/B.
General construction recognizes profits unevenly depending on order intake and project timing, and it rides project cycles hard, so a single year's earnings is a shaky basis for value. Price-to-book (P/B) — the share price against net assets such as land and construction holdings — is steadier and less whipsawed by that swing.
Price against assets alone says little about where the cycle stands. Reading it together with price against this year's expected earnings shows how far profits have recovered.
That said, profitability is currently weak, so this metric is best treated as a rough reference only.
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 is somewhat higher than equity (debt ratio 288.1%).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- Revenue fell 23.3% year over year (3-year trend: falling).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 6.0% lower than a year earlier.
- ROE is -21.6% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is -9.0%.
- 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 Jungheung Construction 40.6% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 50.75%
With the controlling bloc holding 51%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
Daewoo E&C is a general contractor that makes money by directly building apartments (the Prugio and Summit brands) and social infrastructure. About two-thirds of revenue comes from the housing and building division that constructs apartments and offices, backed by civil engineering such as roads, bridges, ports and railways (about a fifth) and plants such as LNG, petrochemicals, nuclear power and gas power (about a tenth). In other words, building and selling apartments is the center of earnings, while large overseas projects such as an Iraqi new port and Nigerian and Mozambican LNG fill in civil-engineering and plant revenue. Because it wins orders and recognizes revenue and profit in step with construction progress, the order backlog and site-by-site cost control are the keys to earnings. As a result, the domestic apartment sales climate and overseas-site costs drive this company's profit.
The latest close is ₩16,870 and the market capitalization is ₩6.9 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩14,959) and below its 60-day moving average (₩20,450). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 52.9, a neutral level. The one-month change is +0.3%, the three-month change is -47.6%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -54.6%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 93 (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 94% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 39.6%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Looking only at last year's (2025) results, the metrics are poor. Because net profit was negative, the P/E ratio (how many times one year's earnings the price is) cannot even be computed, and ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) of -27.3% and an operating margin of -10.1% show a loss. The P/B (price to book net assets) of 1.93x looks high versus peers, but this is closer to an optical effect from the denominator shrinking as the large loss reduced shareholders' equity (book net assets), not because the company is high-quality. These trailing (last year's) metrics reflect the company's condition worse than reality. The key is that this loss is not an ongoing loss but a one-time write-off of unsold-inventory bad debt and overseas costs cleared all at once. On this year's (forward) basis with profit normalized, the P/E is in the mid-teens, the multiple of an ordinary profitable builder rather than a loss-making company. The debt ratio (debt to equity) of 295.2% is high even allowing for the nature of the construction industry, but the current ratio that measures near-term ability to pay is 194%, leaving room for immediate funding.
Five-year revenue rose from ₩8.7 trillion in 2021 to ₩11.6 trillion in 2023, then fell for a third straight year to ₩10.5 trillion in 2024 and ₩8.1 trillion in 2025. Profit was even more dramatic: after annual net profit in the ₩480-660 billion range in 2021-2023, it plunged to a 2025 operating loss of ₩815.4 billion and net loss of ₩912.3 billion. This plunge was a pre-emptive loss provision that recognized in the fourth quarter, all at once, bad debt at domestic unsold sites (about ₩550 billion) and cost overruns at overseas sites such as Iraqi civil engineering, a Singapore urban railway and a Nigerian plant. The turn came in the first quarter of 2026. Revenue was ₩1.95 trillion, down 6% year on year, but operating profit surged 68.9% to ₩255.6 billion, and net profit rose 237.9% to ₩195.8 billion, with the operating margin climbing to 13% in a single quarter. As the loss factors had already been cleared, this is a signal that the cost ratio has returned to normal, and this year is viewed as a return to a profit trajectory out of last year's one-off loss. Such a profit-inflection stock shows its substance only when viewed on this year's (forward) basis rather than last year's numbers.
Recent disclosures show both recovery and volatility together. In early February the company disclosed a 2026 business plan of ₩8 trillion in consolidated revenue and ₩18 trillion in new orders, with ₩18 trillion being its largest-ever order target. From late April through late May several single-sale/supply-contract (large-order) disclosures followed, notably the May 29 contract with Gyeonggi Housing & Urban Development Corporation for the Third Pangyo Techno Valley construction project (about ₩383.6 billion). By the company's tally, cumulative supply contracts from the start of the year through the end of May were about ₩4 trillion, up 28.8% year on year. The May 15 quarterly report formally confirmed the swing from a 2025 loss to first-quarter 2026 operating profit of ₩255.6 billion. Meanwhile, the debt-guarantee decisions on May 7 and 14 are contingent-liability in nature, tied to real-estate project financing and the like, an item to view together on the financial side. In a June 2 clarification of rumor/reporting (unconfirmed) disclosure, the company stated these were not confirmed facts. Taken together, the narrative runs from loss recognition to securing orders to confirming the swing to profit.
The strong conditions are clear. After pre-emptively clearing out unsold-inventory and overseas losses last year, first-quarter operating profit rose sharply, passing the earnings trough, and it has an order base in plants such as nuclear power and LNG. Because of last year's loss, the P/E cannot be computed and the P/B looks high, but this is merely an optical effect at the point where profit bottomed; on the premise of a return to profit this year, the valuation burden is not large. There are also clear cautions. Revenue has fallen for a third straight year, so a profitability recovery, rather than growth, is the key issue, and a 295% debt ratio and several debt guarantees mean the financial safety net is not thick. A slowdown in the domestic sales climate or additional cost overruns at overseas sites could shake profit again. Ultimately, the structure is strong if domestic sales hold up, overseas costs stay controlled and quarterly profits repeat, and weak if unsold inventory rises again, overseas-site losses recur, or contingent liabilities materialize.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Fairly valued
Compared against large general contractors that directly build housing, civil engineering and plants and whose figures are verifiable on the site.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Engineering & Construction | 33.60x | 1.37x | 4.52% |
| DL E&C | 7.54x | 0.52x | 9.35% |
| Samsung E&A | 15.70x | 2.02x | 12.98% |
| GS E&C | 29.83x | 0.58x | 1.87% |
(a) Against large peers, Daewoo E&C's P/B of 1.99x is superficially higher than Hyundai Engineering & Construction (1.37x), DL E&C (0.46x) and GS E&C (0.51x), and similar to Samsung E&A (1.76x). (b) But this premium is not because the company is high-quality; it results from the denominator shrinking as the large 2025 loss reduced shareholders' equity (book net assets). Because last year's loss means the P/E cannot be computed at all, trailing metrics alone make it easy to misread as overvalued. (c) However, this company is a profit-inflection stock that pre-emptively cleared losses, so it should be viewed on this year's (forward) basis. On this year's normalized earnings that reflect the first-quarter swing to profit, the forward P/E is in the low-to-mid teens, a mid-level position higher than DL E&C (6.5x), similar to Samsung E&A (13.5x), and lower than Hyundai E&C and GS E&C (high-20s to 30x). Given that this is a phase where earnings are normalizing after pre-emptively clearing out losses, we judge it a fair range that is neither extremely expensive nor cheap. That said, whether profit continues needs re-confirmation from results in the second quarter and beyond.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩16,870 and the market capitalization is ₩6.9 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩14,959) and below its 60-day moving average (₩20,450). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 52.9, a neutral level. The one-month change is +0.3%, the three-month change is -47.6%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -54.6%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 93 (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 94% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 39.6%. 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 -39.55% / 6M +173.16% / 12M +129.47%
Key metrics Computed vs sector median
Valuation
A net loss makes the P/E an unreliable valuation gauge. The P/B of 1.93x is above the sector median (0.47x).
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 -21.6%, below the sector average (5.0%). The operating margin is -9.0%. The debt ratio is 288.1%, so the financial structure is somewhat high.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.2B | $7.4B | $5.7B | -23.32% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $465.4M | $283.2M | -$572.8M | -302.28% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $359.5M | $164.5M | -$640.9M | -489.70% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $6.1B | $7.3B | $8.2B | $7.4B | $5.7B |
| Operating profit | $518.7M | $533.9M | $465.4M | $283.2M | -$572.8M |
| Net profit | $340.5M | $354.1M | $359.5M | $164.5M | -$640.9M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg -1.87% | ||||
Revenue fell 23.3% year over year (2023 ₩11.6 trillion → 2024 ₩10.5 trillion → 2025 ₩8.1 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'falling'. The rate of decline widened from the prior year. Operating profit fell 302.3% year over year. The decline widened. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is -1.9%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -16.8%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 6.0% lower 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
- The most recent full year was a loss, so it is worth checking whether profitability recovers.
- Revenue fell 23.3% year over year (3-year trend: falling).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-02-09IR2026 business plan disclosure — targets of ₩8 trillion in consolidated revenue and ₩18 trillion in new orders (largest ever).Medium-term, the company officially presents the direction of earnings normalization and order expansion. Whether the target is met is the key to earnings credibility. Source
- 2026-05-29UpdateSigned a supply contract with Gyeonggi Housing & Urban Development Corporation for the Third Pangyo Techno Valley construction project (about ₩383.6 billion, through 2031).Near-term, reinforces domestic urban-development orders and is reflected in revenue and profit as construction progresses. Cumulative supply contracts since the start of the year are about ₩4 trillion. Source
- 2026-05-15EarningsFirst-quarter 2026 quarterly report filed — revenue ₩1.95 trillion, operating profit ₩255.6 billion (+68.9%), net profit ₩195.8 billion (+237.9%), confirming the swing to profit.Strongly positive in the near term. A signal of passing the earnings trough that proves the 2025 loss was one-off. Source
- 2026-05-07UpdateDebt-guarantee decision disclosure — a contingent liability tied to real-estate project financing and the like.Together with the 295% debt ratio, an item showing the financial safety net is not thick; whether the contingent liability materializes needs to be watched. Source
- 2026-06-02UpdateClarification of rumor or reporting (unconfirmed) disclosure — the company's position is that these are not confirmed facts.A near-term uncertainty factor. A subsequent confirming disclosure needs to be watched. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-quarter 2026 operating profit | ₩255.6 billion | DART 2026 1 | Confirmed | link |
| First-quarter 2026 net profit | ₩195.8 billion | DART 2026 1 | Confirmed | link |
| 2025 full-year operating profit/loss | -₩815.4 billion | DART | Confirmed | link |
| 2026 estimated net profit (forward) | approx. ₩550.0 billion(self-estimate) | — | Unverified | link |
Recent filings Source
- 2026-06-02Disclosure
- 2026-05-29Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-29Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-29Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-05-22Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-05-18Disclosure
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-15OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-05-14Amended filing
- 2026-05-07Disclosure
- 2026-04-30Single supply/sales contract (amended)
- 2026-04-29Amended filing
📖 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.