Air Busan (298690) 🔎 In-depth
KOSPI · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
Air Busan is a low-cost carrier based at Gimhae (Busan) that operates short-haul routes to Japan, Southeast Asia and Greater China as well as domestic routes; ticket sales make up most of its revenue (about ₩832.6 billion in 2025), and because it leases a large share of its aircraft in dollars, lease costs and foreign-currency-liability valuation gains and losses move together with exchange rates, giving its accounting results a swinging character. Following Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana, an absorption-merger into affiliate Jin Air (targeting a Q1 2027 launch) is under way; preliminary Q1 results showed revenue +3.3%, operating profit in the black and net profit in the red, while a March disclosure of a change of more than 30% in the profit-and-loss structure confirmed the 2025 swing to a loss. What stands out lately is that operating profit stays in the black and a P/B of 1.17x sits below Jin Air's 1.41 and Jeju Air's 1.40, but with a heavy balance sheet (debt ratio of 801%, current ratio of 50.7%) and net profit whipsawed by exchange rates, the future direction hinges largely on the merger terms (merger ratio, dissenting-shareholder appraisal price) and exchange rates.
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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 “Airlines” (Transportation), a type typically read first through EV/EBITDA.
Airlines carry heavy debt and depreciation tied to their fleets, and capital structures vary widely from carrier to carrier, which distorts simple profit comparisons. That is why EV/EBITDA — enterprise value, which includes debt, measured against pre-depreciation operating earnings — is 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 956.3%).
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 55.2%).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- Revenue fell 17.3% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 3.3% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is -13.7% (total-net basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is -1.7%.
- 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 Asiana Airlines 41.89% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 41.94%
With the controlling bloc holding 42%, the ownership structure is stable.
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
Air Busan is a low-cost carrier (LCC) based at Gimhae (Busan) that operates short-haul routes to Japan, Southeast Asia and Greater China as well as domestic routes. How it makes money is simple. Ticket sales (passenger fares) make up most of revenue, with ancillary services such as baggage and seat selection plus cargo transport added on top. 2025 annual revenue is about ₩832.6 billion, and the big cost pillars are aircraft lease costs, fuel and labor. Because it leases a large share of its aircraft in foreign currency (dollars), when exchange rates rise (a weaker won), lease costs and foreign-currency-liability valuation gains and losses move together, giving its accounting results a swinging character. In other words, apart from how many passengers it carries in the core business, the external variable of exchange rates cuts heavily into the final result.
The latest close is ₩1,550 and the market capitalization is ₩252.5 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩1,496) and below its 60-day moving average (₩1,636). 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 +2.4%, the three-month change is -21.3%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -29.4%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 15 (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 14% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 7.8%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Starting with valuation, the P/E (how many times a year's earnings the share price is) is not computed because 2025 was a loss. The P/B (how many times book net assets the share price is) is 1.76x, and the P/S (how many times a year's revenue the share price is) is 0.24x. A P/B of 1.17x is below fellow LCCs Jin Air (1.41) and Jeju Air (1.40), so relative to asset value it sits cheap versus peers. On a revenue basis (P/S of 0.24) it is also on the light side. On profitability, ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) was -13.7% and the operating margin -0.5%, weak on a 2025 full-year basis. But the most important thing when looking at this company is the financial structure. The debt ratio (debt relative to equity) is high at 801%, and the current ratio (assets that can be turned into cash right away versus debt due within a year) is below 100% at 50.7%. Aircraft lease liabilities being booked large is a carrier characteristic to account for, but even so the fact that this is a company with a large debt weight is clearly a point to note.
Five-year revenue grew sharply from ₩176.5 billion (2021) to ₩832.6 billion (2025) alongside the recovery from COVID. That said, 2025 fell -17.3% from the peak year of 2024 (₩1,006.8 billion), bending once. The swing in earnings is larger. Operating profit reversed from a ₩146.3 billion profit in 2024 to a -₩4.5 billion loss in 2025, and net profit turned to a -₩22.1 billion loss. The most recent quarter (Q1 2026) showed revenue of ₩257.7 billion (+3.3%), up slightly, and operating profit held a ₩30.4 billion profit. That means the core business itself is still turning a profit. Yet net profit was a -₩16.1 billion loss. The reason the money earned in operations did not feed through to the final result is non-operating costs, especially foreign-currency-liability valuation losses and interest expense. This part depends on how exchange rates move and is hard to pin down in advance. So this year's annual net profit is hard to assume with confidence, and for the same reason a forward P/E is not presented separately. The core of growth hinges less on core-business metrics such as route recovery and more on whether exchange rates stabilize and on the merger terms discussed next.
The biggest thread is the LCC consolidation. Following Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana Airlines, Air Busan, an Asiana affiliate, is going through the process of being absorbed and merged into Korean Air affiliate Jin Air, with the merged carrier targeting a Q1 2027 launch. In the merger process, the merger ratio and the dissenting-shareholder protection procedure (appraisal rights) are direct variables for the share price. Ahead of the merger, movement in the equity structure is also visible. There was a large-holding change (simplified) disclosure on May 8, 2026, and on June 2 a clarification of a rumor/report (unconfirmed) disclosure appeared. On the results side, the April 21 preliminary Q1 results (operating fair disclosure) reported revenue +3.3%, operating profit in the black and net profit in the red, and on March 4 a disclosure of a change of more than 30% in the profit-and-loss structure confirmed the 2025 swing to a loss.
Looking first at the observed strengths: first, operating profit stayed in the black even in Q1, so the core business's cash-generating power is alive; second, a P/B of 1.17x is below fellow LCCs (Jin Air 1.41, Jeju Air 1.40), so relative to asset value it sits cheap within peers; and third, a clear structural change is under way in the merger into Jin Air, so events such as the merger ratio and dissenting-shareholder protection procedure can move the share price directly. On the other hand, the points to weigh are also clear. A debt ratio of 801% and a current ratio of 50.7% make the financial structure far from light, net profit stayed in the red whipsawed by exchange rates, and revenue also bent once from its peak. In sum, this is a company whose core business is profitable but whose final result is shaken by foreign-currency and financial variables, sitting cheaper than peers relative to asset value. The future direction is likely to hinge on the merger terms (merger ratio, dissenting-shareholder appraisal price) and exchange rates more than on results themselves. If the merger terms are favorable and exchange rates stabilize, it is structured to unwind strongly; if the merger ratio is unfavorable or exchange rates spike further, it should be read as structured to weaken.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
Fellow low-cost carrier (LCC) comparison set: Jin Air, Jeju Air. All are short-haul passenger-focused LCCs with similar business structures.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jin Air | 0.00x | 1.16x | -13.74% |
| Jeju Air | 0.00x | 1.23x | -42.30% |
(a) Position versus the comparison set: a P/B of 1.17x is below Jin Air (1.41) and Jeju Air (1.40), appearing as a discount relative to assets. (b) Premium/discount: it is also low on a revenue basis (P/S of 0.24), but all three companies are in net loss so there is no P/E, and the P/B of a loss-making company is hard to trust as is because equity can shrink quickly. (c) Limits of trailing: 2025 was a loss so there is no P/E on last year's confirmed basis, and this year's net profit is swayed by foreign-currency-liability valuation gains and losses, so a forward P/E is also hard to present with confidence. On top of that, with the merger into Jin Air under way, terms such as the merger ratio and dissenting-shareholder appraisal price can bear on the share price more than ordinary multiples. Therefore it is hard to simply declare it cheap or expensive, and it is left inconclusive.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩1,550 and the market capitalization is ₩252.5 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩1,496) and below its 60-day moving average (₩1,636). 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 +2.4%, the three-month change is -21.3%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -29.4%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 15 (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 14% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 7.8%. 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 -7.81% / 6M -31.93% / 12M -60.73%
Key metrics Computed vs whole-market median
Valuation
A net loss makes the P/E an unreliable valuation gauge. The P/B of 1.76x 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 -13.7%, below the whole-market average (3.0%). The operating margin is -1.7%. The debt ratio is 956.3%, so the financial structure is somewhat high.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (separate)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $625.5M | $707.3M | $584.9M | -17.30% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $112.2M | $102.8M | -$3.2M | -103.09% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $73.2M | $1.7M | -$15.5M | -1013.17% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $124.0M | $284.5M | $625.5M | $707.3M | $584.9M |
| Operating profit | -$143.3M | -$57.1M | $112.2M | $102.8M | -$3.2M |
| Net profit | -$186.8M | -$105.7M | $73.2M | $1.7M | -$15.5M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 47.37% | ||||
Revenue fell 17.3% year over year (2023 ₩890.4 billion → 2024 ₩1.0 trillion → 2025 ₩832.6 billion), and the three-year trend is 'mixed'. The rate of decline widened from the prior year. Operating profit fell 103.1% year over year. The decline widened. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 47.4%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -3.3%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 3.3% 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 956.3%).
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 55.2%).
- The most recent full year was a loss, so it is worth checking whether profitability recovers.
- Revenue fell 17.3% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-04-21EarningsQ1 2026 preliminary results (operating fair disclosure): revenue ₩257.7 billion (+3.3%), operating profit ₩30.4 billion (-24.2%), net profit -₩16.1 billion, a swing to a loss.Short term: keeping operating profit in the black is positive, but the swing to a net loss is a burden. Sensitivity to exchange rates and foreign-currency costs is reconfirmed. Source
- 2026-05-08UpdateFiling of a large-holding status report (simplified) - related to governance and equity changes ahead of the merger.Mid term: an equity change tied to the flow of the merger ratio and governance reshuffle, a variable related to the dissenting-shareholder protection procedure. Source
- 2026-06-02FilingClarification of a rumor or report (unconfirmed) - the company responded to circulating report content as an unconfirmed matter.Short term: an item that can heighten short-term volatility as merger- and structure-related reports continue. Source
- 2026-03-04Earnings[Amended filing] Disclosure of a change of more than 30% in revenue or profit-and-loss structure - 2025 profit and loss changed sharply from the prior year (swing to a loss).Mid term: confirms and reports the swing of operating and net profit to a loss in 2025 versus a 2024 profit. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings Source
- 2026-06-02Disclosure
- 2026-05-29Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-29Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-13PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-08OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-04-21EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-03-26Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-17PeriodicAnnual business report
- 2026-03-09Audit report
- 2026-03-04EarningsAmended filing
- 2026-03-04Disclosure
- 2026-03-04Shareholders' meeting notice
📖 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.