KEPCO E&C does not build power plants itself; instead it earns money by selling design drawings and engineering, holding what is effectively a domestic monopoly on the overall and systems design of nuclear plants and even the reactor core design, while extending into design of LNG and coal thermal and renewable plants, operation and maintenance, and nuclear decommissioning and SMR design. Provisional consolidated results on May 8, 2026 confirmed improving operating profit, and the May 15 quarterly report formalized a Q1 operating-profit jump of +194.8%; on the business side, the overall and systems design for the Czech Dukovany nuclear plant, new domestic reactors, and SMR design are the pillars of future results. What stands out lately is that the barriers of a domestic nuclear-design monopoly, a near-net-cash balance sheet, and expanding nuclear-design volume starting with the Czech project put it clearly into a turnaround past a 2025 trough; yet even on this year's expected earnings the price is around 50 times profit, so expectations for a nuclear buildout are already substantially reflected and the pace of orders and design-revenue recognition is the key variable.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Debt ratio, current ratio and interest burden all look healthy.
- Revenue fell 8.9% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 13.3% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 13.7% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 6.8%.
- P/B is high versus peers, a stretch on an asset basis.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Korea Electric Power Corporation 51% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 51%
With the controlling bloc holding 51%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- KEPCO E&C (Korea Power Engineering Company) does not build power plants directly; it makes money by selling 'design drawings and engineering.' Its core is nuclear, where it effectively holds a domestic monopoly on the overall design (the full plant layout), the systems design (cooling and safety systems), and even the reactor core design.
- Added to this are design of LNG and coal thermal power and of renewable plants such as wind, solar, and hydrogen, plus operation and maintenance (O&M) of plants in service and nuclear decommissioning and SMR (small modular reactor) design.
- Most revenue is design-service fees, so it runs on people rather than large facilities, and results therefore swing year to year depending on whether large projects enter the design phase.
- The latest close is ₩95,900 and market cap is ₩3.7 trillion.
- The price sits below its 20-day line (₩114,960) and below its 60-day line (₩144,257).
- Trading below both its short- and mid-term moving averages, the trend is on the soft side.
- RSI (an auxiliary gauge weighing the strength of gains against losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 34.9, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is -19.2%, the three-month change is -39.3%, and the position versus the 52-week high is -50.8%.
- Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 43 (1-99, recent one-year return against the index recency-weighted; 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 55.3%.
- Chart reading is best done alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- The P/E ratio (how many times one year's earnings the price represents) is 42.94x and the P/B (how many times book equity the price represents) is 5.86x, both high on absolute figures alone.
- That said, the company's 2025 net profit of ₩85.4 billion was far larger than operating profit of ₩35.5 billion, the result of large non-operating items such as interest income and valuation gains, so applying the 16.5% net margin straight into the future is difficult.
- On the other hand the balance sheet is solid.
- The debt ratio (debt versus equity) is low at 41.7%, the current ratio is 215%, and the interest coverage ratio is 263x, effectively near net cash.
- ROE (how much is earned in a year per unit of equity) is 13.7%, so profitability is also on the sound side.
- The dividend yield is 1.2% and the payout ratio 60%, maintaining a policy of returning a substantial share of profit to shareholders.
- Over five years revenue rose gently from ₩433.1 billion (2021) to ₩518.8 billion (2025), though 2025 revenue slipped 8.9% year over year for a brief step back.
- Operating profit, by contrast, halved to ₩35.5 billion in 2025 from the prior year (₩70.9 billion), then jumped to ₩14.1 billion in Q1 2026, up +194.8% year over year, a clear change of direction.
- The core driver of this operating-profit rebound is that revenue from the overall design of the new Czech Dukovany reactor has begun to be recognized in earnest.
- The Q1 operating margin rose to about 12.4%, roughly double the 2025 full-year level (6.8%).
- Because nuclear design has a long lag from order to revenue recognition, the large domestic and overseas reactor and SMR design volume already secured unwinds into revenue over the coming years, so the operating-line recovery is likely to continue.
- Net profit, however, showed -78.6% in Q1 owing to the base effect from 2025 having been inflated by non-operating gains — this reflects base effects in non-operating items, not weak operations.
- On May 8, 2026, provisional consolidated results (fair disclosure) confirmed a sharply improved operating-profit trend, and the May 15 quarterly report formalized a Q1 operating-profit jump of +194.8%.
- In May, governance-related disclosures followed, including an extraordinary shareholders' meeting and the appointment of outside directors and the convening of the meeting, and on June 8 a disclosure set the record-date closing period.
- On the business side, the overall and systems design volume for the Czech Dukovany reactor, new domestic reactors, and SMR overall design are the pillars of future results.
- The strengths are clear: barriers to entry from an effective domestic monopoly on nuclear design, a solid balance sheet near net cash, and a cycle in which nuclear-design volume expands and operating profit recovers, starting with the Czech project.
- On an operating-profit basis, it entered a clear turnaround in 2026 past a 2025 trough.
- The point to note is valuation.
- Even on this year's expected earnings that account for the operating-line recovery, the price is around 50 times profit, so expectations for a nuclear buildout are already substantially in the price.
- In other words this is not a low-valuation name to buy because it is cheap, but a growth/momentum name where the key is whether the earnings-recovery trajectory and nuclear order flow continue as expected.
- If orders and design-revenue recognition proceed as planned, the high multiple is justified; if they are delayed or the non-operating swings in net profit grow, the multiple burden is exposed.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Fairly valued
Compared with large listed players across power and energy plants and the nuclear value chain. Business form (design engineering vs. equipment manufacturing/construction) differs, but the comparison is based on exposure to the nuclear cycle.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doosan Enerbility | 553.29x | 6.02x | 1.09% |
| Hanwha Ocean | 19.33x | 3.90x | 20.19% |
(a) At a P/B of 7.0x, similar to nuclear-equipment maker Doosan Enerbility (P/B 7.3x), it is not especially low within the nuclear value chain. (b) 2025 net profit was inflated by non-operating gains, so the trailing P/E of 51x looks higher than the true earnings power — a limitation. (c) Even on this year's expected earnings that reflect the operating-profit recovery (Q1 +194.8%), the price is around 50 times profit, so nuclear-buildout expectations are already substantially in the price. It is hard to view as undervalued, and is judged a growth-type multiple justified if the earnings-recovery trajectory continues as expected.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩95,900 and the market capitalization is ₩3.7 trillion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩114,960) and below its 60-day moving average (₩144,257). 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 34.9, a neutral level. The one-month change is -19.2%, the three-month change is -39.3%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -50.8%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 43 (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 55.3%. 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 -55.31% / 6M -37.87% / 12M -56.07%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 42.94x is above the sector median (32.87x). The P/B of 5.86x is above the sector median (1.99x). 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 13.7%, above the sector average (4.0%). The operating margin is 6.8%. The debt ratio is 41.7%, so the financial structure is stable.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $367.4M | $377.4M | $343.8M | -8.91% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $25.1M | $47.0M | $23.5M | -50.02% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $21.6M | $38.8M | $56.6M | +45.90% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $287.1M | $334.9M | $367.4M | $377.4M | $343.8M |
| Operating profit | $6.7M | $9.2M | $25.1M | $47.0M | $23.5M |
| Net profit | $10.9M | $11.9M | $21.6M | $38.8M | $56.6M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 4.61% | ||||
Revenue fell 8.9% year over year (2023 ₩554.4 billion → 2024 ₩569.5 billion → 2025 ₩518.8 billion), and the three-year trend is 'mixed'. The rate of decline widened from the prior year. Operating profit fell 50.0% year over year. The decline widened. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 4.6%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -3.3%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 13.3% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- ROE of 13.7% points to solid profitability.
- The balance sheet is stable in terms of debt and liquidity.
Points to watch
- Revenue fell 8.9% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-08EarningsQ1 2026 provisional consolidated results (fair disclosure). Officially confirmed a trend of operating profit sharply improved year over year.Short term: confirmation of an operating turnaround strengthens expectations for earnings improvement. Mid term: a signal that nuclear-design revenue is ramping up. Source
- 2026-05-15FilingQ1 2026 quarterly report. Revenue ₩113.3 billion (+13.3%), operating profit ₩14.1 billion (+194.8%), confirming the operating-profit surge.Mid term: recognition of Czech reactor overall-design revenue lifts the operating margin to about double the 2025 level. Source
- 2026-05-28FilingExtraordinary shareholders' meeting results. Governance-related agenda items handled, including appointment of outside directors.Short term: limited earnings impact. A change in governance and board composition. Source
- 2026-06-08DividendDisclosure setting the shareholder-register closing period and record date (setting the record date that fixes shareholder rights).Short term: fixes the record date related to dividends and shareholder rights. Linked to the 60% payout policy. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-06-08Disclosure
- 2026-05-29Disclosure
- 2026-05-28Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-05-19Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-15Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-13Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-05-13Amended filing
- 2026-05-12Amended filing
- 2026-05-08EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-04-30Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-04-30Amended 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.