SK IE Technology (361610) 🔎 In-depth
KOSPI · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
SK IE Technology's core business is making and selling the lithium-ion battery separator (LiBS), a thin film that keeps the cathode and anode from touching directly to prevent fire and explosion, with a foldable transparent cover window (FCW) as a secondary line, so its results are heavily tied to electric-vehicle sales. Recently it has been trimming loss-making, low-efficiency lines by selling its 100% stake in the Changzhou plant in China and halting operations at the domestic Jeungpyeong plant within the year, consolidating production around Poland; the Polish plant keeps expanding, and once complete it aims to route a significant share of its 1.54 billion m² annual capacity toward ESS. What stands out is a mix of strength and caution: it has narrowed losses by cleaning up loss-making lines, the shares have fallen below a P/B of 0.5x to price in much of the downturn, and it has pivoted toward ESS, while the roughly 20% plant utilization creates a heavy fixed-cost burden, the timing of a return to profit is unconfirmed, and net debt stands at ₩1.28 trillion, making the timing of a demand recovery and rising utilization the key question.
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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 “Battery Cells & Packs” (Secondary Batteries), a type typically read first through EV/EBITDA.
Battery cell and pack makers carry heavy capacity build-outs and depreciation, so net income alone understates how much cash the core business really generates. That is why EV/EBITDA — which looks at operating cash before depreciation and folds in debt — 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, the company is currently in a revenue-growth rather than a profit phase, so this metric alone offers only a limited read.
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
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 37.5%).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- Revenue rose 20.2% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: mixed).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 38.4% lower than a year earlier.
- ROE is -8.1% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is -94.1%.
- P/E is hard to compute here, so this is read on P/B.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder SK Innovation 53.35% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 53.35%
With the controlling bloc holding 53%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
This company's core business is making and selling the 'separator (LiBS),' one of the four key materials in a lithium-ion battery. The separator is a thin film that keeps the cathode and anode from touching directly, preventing fire and explosion, and it is a core component that determines the safety of EV and ESS batteries. Most revenue comes from this separator, with a foldable transparent cover window (FCW) used in smartphones and the like attached as a secondary line. Its customers are automakers and battery-cell manufacturers, so the company's results are heavily driven by how many electric vehicles are sold.
The latest close is ₩14,250 and the market capitalization is ₩1.2 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩13,989) and below its 60-day moving average (₩16,930). 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 47.2, a neutral level. The one-month change is -7.6%, the three-month change is -46.8%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -58.5%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 3 (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 2% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 37.2%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
The company is currently not turning a profit, so the P/E ratio (how many times one year's earnings the price represents) cannot be calculated. Instead, the P/B (how many times book net assets the price represents) is 0.45x, meaning it trades at half the value of the company's net assets. The 2025 operating loss was ₩246.3 billion and the net loss was ₩211.4 billion, a large deficit. The debt ratio (debt against equity) is 69%, not overly heavy, but net borrowings (real debt after subtracting cash from total borrowings) reach about ₩1.28 trillion. The FCF yield (actual cash generated against market cap) is -11.8%, with cash flowing out due to expansion investment and losses. That said, these losses and negative cash flow should be read as figures produced at the trough of an EV demand slowdown. A company being fundamentally weak and a company being temporarily in the red because the industry is poor need to be read separately.
Revenue fell sharply from ₩648.3 billion in 2023 to ₩217.8 billion in 2024, then rebounded 20% to ₩261.8 billion in 2025. Earnings are still in the red, but the direction is improving. The operating loss narrowed from ₩290.9 billion in 2024 to ₩246.3 billion in 2025, and the net loss also shrank from ₩246.6 billion to ₩211.4 billion, a narrowing-deficit trend. However, Q1 2026 was weak again, with revenue of ₩35.9 billion (-38% year on year) and an operating loss of ₩73.2 billion. The direct cause was average plant utilization falling to around 20%. To break this loss-making structure, the company is sweepingly restructuring its production footprint. The keys to earnings improvement are recovering utilization and securing ESS orders, and the company has set improvement from the second half onward as its goal. It has not yet confirmed and formalized a timing for the return to profit.
Most recent filings concern 'production restructuring.' The company decided to sell its 100% stake in the Changzhou plant in China to a local firm, and it will halt operations at the domestic Jeungpyeong plant within the year. Both decisions are moves to trim loss-making, low-efficiency lines and consolidate production around Poland. At the same time, the Polish plant keeps expanding; once complete it aims to raise capacity to 1.54 billion m² per year and route a significant share of that toward ESS. In other words, this is a restructuring of 'cutting today's loss-making lines and concentrating where demand is reviving (Poland and ESS).'
This name rides the industry cycle of EV and battery materials directly. The strengths are clear. The company is narrowing losses by cleaning up loss-making lines. The shares have already fallen below half of book net assets (a P/B of 0.5x), pricing in much of the downturn. The pivot toward the new ESS demand source is also a thread of recovery. The cautions are equally clear. Plant utilization is very low at around 20%, creating a heavy fixed-cost burden. The company has not been able to confirm a timing for the return to profit. Net borrowings are heavy at ₩1.28 trillion and cash keeps flowing out, so the stamina to withstand expansion investment and financial burden is the key question. In short, there is room for a strong rebound if EV and ESS demand recovers and utilization climbs. Conversely, if that timing is delayed, the losses and funding burden persist.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
Compared against listed companies in the EV and ESS battery-materials chain that ride the same demand cycle.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung SDI | 0.00x | 1.52x | -3.03% |
| EcoPro BM | 254.72x | 5.61x | 2.28% |
Because the company is loss-making, a P/E-based undervalued/overvalued judgment does not hold. Instead, on price versus net assets, the P/B of 0.5x is clearly lower than Samsung SDI (1.8x) and Ecopro BM (7.1x) in the same battery-materials chain. Against asset value it trades cheaply. But this low price is also the market reflecting a loss-making phase in which plant utilization has fallen to 20%. So the valuation at this point holds both 'cheap against assets' and 'uncertain when earnings will return.' Before a recovery in end demand and a normalization of utilization are confirmed, it is hard to declare it definitively undervalued, so the read is inconclusive.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩14,250 and the market capitalization is ₩1.2 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩13,989) and below its 60-day moving average (₩16,930). 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 47.2, a neutral level. The one-month change is -7.6%, the three-month change is -46.8%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -58.5%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 3 (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 2% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 37.2%. 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 -37.22% / 6M -56.16% / 12M -74.78%
Key metrics Computed vs sector median
Valuation
A net loss makes the P/E an unreliable valuation gauge. The P/B of 0.45x is below the sector median (1.21x).
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 -8.1%, below the sector average (1.0%). The operating margin is -94.1%. The debt ratio is 68.3%, so the financial structure is stable.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $455.4M | $153.1M | $184.0M | +20.20% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $35.2M | -$204.4M | -$173.1M | — |
| Net profit | $57.7M | -$173.2M | -$148.5M | — |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $424.1M | $411.5M | $455.4M | $153.1M | $184.0M |
| Operating profit | $62.6M | -$36.7M | $35.2M | -$204.4M | -$173.1M |
| Net profit | $67.0M | -$20.9M | $57.7M | -$173.2M | -$148.5M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg -18.85% | ||||
Revenue rose 20.2% year over year (2023 ₩648.3 billion → 2024 ₩217.9 billion → 2025 ₩261.9 billion), and the three-year trend is 'mixed'. The pace of growth also quickened 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 -18.9%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -36.4%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 38.4% lower than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Source Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators Computed
What stands out
- Revenue grew 20.2% year over year, a sign of growth.
Points to watch
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 37.5%).
- The most recent full-year net result was a loss.
- The most recent full year was a loss, so it is worth checking whether profitability recovers.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-27FilingDecided to sell its 100% stake in the operating entity of the Changzhou separator plant in China to a local firm (about ₩88.6 billion).A loss-reduction effect from cleaning up a loss-making line. A core measure in the restructuring to consolidate production in Poland. Source
- 2026-05-27FilingDecided to halt operations of the production facilities at the domestic Jeungpyeong plant within the year (business suspension).Eases the fixed-cost burden by trimming a low-efficiency, low-utilization line. Near-term capacity falls, but it contributes to defending earnings. Source
- 2026-05-13EarningsPreliminary Q1 2026 results disclosure — revenue ₩35.9 billion (-38% year on year), operating loss ₩73.2 billion, net loss ₩81.8 billion.Confirms continued losses from low utilization. An earnings rebound hinges on the timing of recovering utilization and new orders. Source
- 2026-04-29FilingDecided on a paid-in capital increase at an overseas subsidiary (the Polish production entity) — to fund the Polish expansion.Supports the restructuring around Poland-centered production and funds the expansion. It signals continued group-level investment but is also a funding-burden factor. Source
- 2026-04-22IRNotice of an investor-relations event (IR) — to explain results and the direction of the business restructuring.A venue to directly explain the production restructuring and ESS pivot strategy to the market, a channel to confirm the recovery roadmap. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings Source
- 2026-05-29Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-27Disclosure
- 2026-05-27Disclosure
- 2026-05-27Disclosure
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-13EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-05-12Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-07Disclosure
- 2026-04-29Paid-in capital increase
- 2026-04-29Disclosure
- 2026-04-22Disclosure
- 2026-04-01OwnershipOwnership-change 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.