Bumhan Fuel Cell (382900) 🔎 In-depth
KOSDAQ · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
Bumhan Fuel Cell is the only domestic maker of hydrogen fuel cells for Jangbogo-III class submarines, forming a defense pillar; a hydrogen-infrastructure pillar built on its localized hydrogen compressor for hydrogen refueling stations; and revenue from building fuel cells and property rentals. Both pillars book revenue project by project, so quarter-to-quarter swings are large. In April 2026 it signed a ₩9.7 billion liquid-hydrogen system contract (about 22% of 2025 revenue) with Korea Gas Technology Corporation and raised its March Hanam Deokpung station contract to ₩3.6 billion, but the Q1 report in May confirmed a weak start. What stands out recently is that the high-barrier position in submarine fuel cells, the station orders secured this year, and a P/B of 1.34x are strengths, whereas Q1 revenue was cut roughly in half and turned to operating and net losses, and with a 218% debt ratio and an interest-coverage ratio below 1x, the orders in hand must be realized into revenue and profit on time to ease the financial burden.
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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 “Power Equipment” (Shipbuilding, Machinery, Defense & Power Equipment), a type typically read first through forward P/E.
Power-equipment firms make the transformers and grid gear that move electricity, and their results swing with grid-investment cycles and large project awards. Because the backlog converting into future earnings matters more than results already booked, the forward P/E — reflecting expected 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.
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 75.4%).
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- Revenue rose 19.8% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 51.6% lower than a year earlier.
- ROE is 1.0% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 2.0%.
- 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 Bumhan Industries 51.36% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 51.59%
With the controlling bloc holding 52%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
Bumhan Fuel Cell earns its revenue along three broad lines. The first is submarine fuel cells. It is the only domestic maker of the hydrogen fuel cell modules that go into Jangbogo-III class submarines, supplying shipbuilders such as Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. Being defense-related, it is a stable pillar that produces a steady annual scale (around ₩20 billion a year). The second is the hydrogen refueling station business. Having localized the hydrogen compressor that makes up a large part of a station's cost, it directly builds and installs liquid-hydrogen systems and refueling equipment. The third is building fuel cells and rental income from properties it holds. In sum, revenue is woven from one pillar in defense (submarines) and another in hydrogen infrastructure, and because both pillars book revenue project by project, revenue tends to swing a good deal from quarter to quarter.
The latest close is ₩15,800 and the market capitalization is ₩138.4 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩15,090) and below its 60-day moving average (₩23,283). 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 44.3, a neutral level. The one-month change is -17.9%, the three-month change is -61.2%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -61.2%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 37 (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 36% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 34.4%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
This is a stretch where the valuation metrics and the actual business run at odds. The P/E ratio (how many times a year's net profit the share price is) is 87.05x, which looks very high on the number alone, but this is closer to an illusion born of a compressed denominator — 2025 net profit (about ₩1.6 billion) was so small — than of an expensive share price. For a company whose earnings are at an inflection, it is more appropriate to read this trailing P/E (a P/E based on last year's confirmed earnings) alongside the context that the figure comes from small earnings, rather than taking the single number as a 'burden.' The P/B ratio (how many times net assets the share price is) is 0.87x, so relative to asset value the burden is actually small. Profitability is still weak: ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) is 1.0% and the operating margin is a low 2.0%. The balance sheet is somewhat heavy, with a debt ratio (debt to equity) of 218%, and with the interest-coverage ratio below 1x, operating earnings are not fully covering interest. That said, the current ratio is 1.53x, so short-term solvency itself is being maintained.
Revenue rose for three straight years: ₩30.5 billion in 2023 → ₩36.2 billion in 2024 → ₩43.4 billion in 2025 (+19.8% year on year). Top-line growth is clearly alive. The path of earnings, however, is different. Operating profit turned from a loss in 2023 to ₩2.4 billion in 2024, then shrank again to ₩0.9 billion in 2025, and while net profit of ₩1.6 billion (+90.5%) rose, it is a recovery off a small base, so the absolute size is not large. The most recent quarter warrants a closer look. Q1 2026 revenue was ₩5.1 billion, down 51.6% year on year, turning to an operating loss (-₩2.1 billion) and a net loss (-₩1.7 billion). Even allowing that project-type revenue can be lumpy depending on the timing of recognition in a given quarter, the start of the year is weak. For this reason it is hard to declare this year's annual earnings in one direction in advance, and the key is when the orders in hand are realized into revenue and profit. For reference, the P/E shown now is a figure based on last year's already-confirmed earnings (trailing); a forward basis that assumes future earnings is not presented separately, since it is hard to assume credible positive earnings from the current point after a Q1 loss.
Into 2026, orders on the hydrogen-refueling infrastructure side kept coming. In April it agreed to supply a liquid-hydrogen system for the Songpa public bus depot hydrogen bus refueling station to Korea Gas Technology Corporation for ₩9.7 billion. This single order equals about 22% of 2025 revenue and is recognized as revenue across 2026-2027 according to progress. In March, its equipment contract for the Hanam Deokpung hydrogen refueling station, signed with Hydrogen Energy Network (in which it holds a 5.1% stake), was raised to ₩3.6 billion to reflect a capacity expansion. That said, this contract has a history of repeated extensions due to permitting delays since the original 2021 agreement, so the possibility that revenue realization slips must also be considered. Meanwhile, at the March AGM the CEO changed, a matter to watch for the continuity of future order and investment decisions. In May the weak Q1 report was disclosed.
This company's strengths are clear. Being the only domestic maker of fuel cells for Jangbogo-III class submarines is a high-barrier defense position and a base that produces a steady annual scale. Added to that, the station orders secured this year (₩9.7 billion + ₩3.6 billion) have room to support revenue from the second half onward, and a P/B of 1.34x carries a small burden on an asset-value basis compared with larger hydrogen and fuel-cell peers. The P/E looking high at 135x is also closer to an illusion created by small earnings; it is hard to call the stock expensive on that number alone. The cautions are just as clear. In Q1 revenue was cut roughly in half and turned to operating and net losses, and with a 218% debt ratio and an interest-coverage ratio below 1x, the financial burden grows if earnings do not recover. In short, this company is strong when the orders in hand are realized into revenue and profit on time and the submarine segment stays steady, and weak when project recognition slips or station margins come out thin.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
Listed companies in the hydrogen and fuel-cell business serve as peers, but because there is no directly comparable listed company for submarine fuel cells (defense) in Korea, an asset-value (P/B) view is used as a supplement.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doosan Fuel Cell | 0.00x | 6.07x | -36.14% |
(a) Doosan Fuel Cell, in the same hydrogen and fuel-cell space, has a P/B above 11x and a negative ROE, whereas Bumhan Fuel Cell at a P/B of 1.55x sits far lower on an asset-value basis. That said, the two companies differ in scale (market cap of ₩4.2 trillion versus ₩249.7 billion) and in their core fields (power and building use versus submarines and stations), so a simple comparison has limits. (b) The barrier of the defense segment is a premium factor, but the Q1 loss and the heavy debt interlock as discount factors. (c) The current P/E of 157x is on a 'last year's confirmed (trailing)' basis, and is closer to an illusion created by the small 2025 net profit of ₩1.6 billion. With earnings at an inflection, it is hard to judge fairness on last year's P/E alone, and since the key is whether this year's orders are realized into revenue and profit, at this stage it is reasonable to hold judgment rather than declare it undervalued or overvalued.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩15,800 and the market capitalization is ₩138.4 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩15,090) and below its 60-day moving average (₩23,283). 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 44.3, a neutral level. The one-month change is -17.9%, the three-month change is -61.2%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -61.2%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 37 (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 36% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 34.4%. 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 -34.44% / 6M -26.87% / 12M -10.00%
Key metrics Computed vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 87.05x is above the sector median (12.50x). The P/B of 0.87x 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.
Intrinsic value (DCF estimate) Estimate
Model output — not a price target. This is what the formula returns under the assumptions below, not a view on where the share price should go.
DCF (discounted cash flow) estimate — discount rate 10.1%, initial growth 4.0%→terminal 2.0%, 10-yr forecast, free-cash-flow basis. A reference range that shifts materially with assumptions.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 1.0%, in line with the sector average (1.0%). The operating margin is 2.0%. The debt ratio is 119.0%, so the financial structure is moderate.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $21.4M | $25.4M | $30.5M | +19.80% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | -$3.7M | $1.7M | $602,645 | -64.42% |
| Net profit | -$1.7M | $586,269 | $1.1M | +90.54% |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $32.4M | $35.6M | $21.4M | $25.4M | $30.5M |
| Operating profit | $4.3M | $920,242 | -$3.7M | $1.7M | $602,645 |
| Net profit | $2.3M | $1.6M | -$1.7M | $586,269 | $1.1M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg -1.51% | ||||
Revenue rose 19.8% year over year (2023 ₩30.5 billion → 2024 ₩36.2 billion → 2025 ₩43.4 billion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. The pace of growth also quickened from the prior year. Operating profit fell 64.4% year over year. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is -1.5%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 19.2%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 51.6% 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 19.8% 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 75.4%).
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-04-30UpdateContract with Korea Gas Technology Corporation to build and install a liquid-hydrogen system for the Songpa public bus depot hydrogen bus refueling station (₩9.7 billion, 22.37% of 2025 revenue, contract period 2026-04-29 to 2027-06-30)A single order equal to about one-fifth of 2026 revenue, and a medium-term driver to support station-segment revenue from the second half onward. That said, revenue recognition is spread across 2026-2027 according to progress. Source
- 2026-03-24UpdateFourth amendment to the equipment supply contract for the Hanam Deokpung hydrogen refueling station with Hydrogen Energy Network (reflecting a capacity expansion, raised to ₩3.6 billion, end date 2026-12-31)The larger scale from the capacity expansion of this station project with an investee (5.1% stake) is positive, but the history of repeated contract extensions due to permitting delays since the original 2021 agreement also shows the uncertainty around the timing of revenue realization. Source
- 2026-05-15EarningsQ1 2026 report filed (revenue ₩5.1 billion, operating loss ₩2.1 billion, net loss ₩1.7 billion — revenue down 51.6% year on year and a swing to loss)Even allowing for the large quarterly variability inherent to project-type revenue, this is a short-term negative that starts the year in loss and raises the burden of recovering annual earnings this year. Source
- 2026-03-31FilingAGM results and CEO changeA management change is a governance event that can affect business direction and execution, and a matter to watch for the continuity of future order and investment decisions. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings Source
- 2026-06-04OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-05-20OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-15OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-04-30Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-04-01Disclosure
- 2026-03-31Disclosure
- 2026-03-31Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-24Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-03-23PeriodicAnnual business report
- 2026-03-23Audit report
- 2026-03-17Shareholders' 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.