Shinsung ST makes core hardware components that go into secondary (rechargeable) batteries; its mainstays are busbars, which use copper to carry current, and module cases that protect the battery, with more than 70% of revenue coming from these parts, and it has recently been broadening into ESS containers and modules. Its 2025 results were badly shaken — revenue -7.9%, operating profit -74% and net profit -92% — on early costs from a U.S. mass-production line and losses at its Poland unit, but in an April corporate value enhancement plan the company set out maintaining a 25% payout ratio and diversifying customers as growth axes, and Q1 revenue recovered by more than 70%. The key point now is that in a phase where U.S. and ESS mass production lifts utilization and absorbs the early costs, the revenue recovery has strong scope to feed through to normalized profit; but if downstream battery demand slows or the overseas units' losses drag on, financial burdens such as a 236% debt ratio and a below-1x interest coverage ratio remain as weaknesses.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Debt is somewhat higher than equity (debt ratio 236.1%).
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- Revenue fell 8.0% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 70.8% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 0.5% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 1.9%.
- The P/E sits above the sector median, reflecting elevated expectations.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Shinsung Delta Tech 25.47% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 44.19%
With the controlling bloc holding 44%, the ownership structure is stable.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- Shinsung ST makes core hardware components that go into secondary (rechargeable) batteries.
- Its flagship product is the busbar — a conductor made mainly of copper that carries current between the battery module and pack — to which it adds module cases that protect the battery from external impact.
- More than 70% of revenue comes from these secondary-battery parts.
- Recently it has moved beyond simple components into ESS (energy storage system) containers and modules, attempting a shift toward being a 'battery solution supplier.' The company itself defines its core business as 'secondary-battery (ESS/EV) components' (April 2026 corporate value enhancement plan disclosure).
- The latest close is ₩18,410 and the market cap is ₩166.4 billion.
- The price sits below the 20-day line (₩22,918) and below the 60-day line (₩30,103).
- With the price below both the short- and medium-term moving averages, the trend is on the subdued side.
- The RSI (a supplementary gauge that weighs upward versus downward force over the last 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 33.1, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is -27.4%, the three-month change is -43.6%, and the position versus the 52-week high is -64.5%.
- Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 40 (on a 1-99 scale, computed from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent periods; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 60% of all stocks by strength.
- Over the last three months it lagged the index by 27.1%.
- Chart reading is best done alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- 2025 revenue was ₩116.9 billion, with operating profit of ₩2.27 billion and net profit of ₩550 million.
- As net profit fell 92% in a year, the P/E (how many times a year's profit the price is) spiked to about 339x — but this is closer to an illusion created by the denominator, profit, temporarily shrinking than by the company becoming expensive.
- So it is hard to call it 'expensive' on this trailing P/E alone; one has to look together at why profit fell.
- The P/B (how many times net assets the price is) is 1.60x, not a burdensome level against asset value.
- Against shareholders' equity of ₩104.0 billion, the debt ratio (debt versus equity) is 236%, which rose sharply in a year as overseas expansion funds came in as debt.
- ROE (how much it earns in a year on equity) is 0.5% and the operating margin is 1.9%, so current profitability is low, and with interest coverage (the degree to which operating profit can cover interest) below 1x the interest burden is tight.
- That said, with a current ratio of 213%, short-term payment capacity itself is sound.
- Revenue over the last three years ran ₩124.7 billion → ₩127.0 billion → ₩116.9 billion, effectively flat to slightly lower, while operating profit (₩8.8 billion → ₩2.3 billion) and net profit (₩9.1 billion → ₩5.5 billion → ₩550 million) bent down sharply.
- The company itself named three causes — early costs (capex, labor, rent) front-loaded from building a large mass-production line at a newly established U.S. unit; a reshuffling of customer production bases (U.S.-China trade friction and tariffs) with some project delays; and widening losses at its equity-invested Poland unit.
- In other words, much of the profit decline comes not from the business breaking down but from up-front costs for future mass production being recognized first.
- As a signal on the other side, Q1 2026 revenue surged 70.8% year over year to ₩50.2 billion, showing that ESS and U.S. volumes have actually begun to turn.
- However, in that same Q1, operating and net profit were still in the red (-₩540 million and -₩950 million), so the added revenue has not yet converted into profit.
- How much full-year profit normalizes into the black this year can only be gauged once utilization rises further and absorbs the early costs, and because the company has not separately put forward revenue or profit targets, the forward P/E (based on this year's expected profit) is not yet fixed either.
- Put another way, the trailing figures already look poor, but the picture ahead hinges on whether the expanded volume converts to profit — a phase where 'it has worsened' and 'signs of recovery' coexist.
- In February 2026 the company disclosed that its 2025 results changed year over year by -7.9% in revenue, -74% in operating profit and -92% in net profit, and directly explained the background (early costs from the U.S. mass-production line, the reshuffling of customer bases, and losses at the Poland unit).
- In April it voluntarily disclosed a corporate value enhancement plan, setting maintenance of a 25% payout ratio as a shareholder-return goal and putting forward securing overseas production bases and diversifying customers as growth axes.
- Separately, in the second half of 2025 it raised funds through an exchangeable-bond issue and treasury-share disposal, and repeated decisions on loans and debt guarantees from 2026 appear to be in support of subsidiaries (U.S. and Poland), making the flow of funds among affiliates a point to watch together.
- On the strengths side: the sharp 2025 profit drop stemmed from front-loaded early costs of the U.S. and Poland expansion rather than a slump in the business; Q1 revenue jumped more than 70%, so a volume recovery has actually begun; and the company has explicitly stated it will maintain a 25% payout ratio.
- Asset- and short-term-liquidity metrics such as a P/B of 1.80x and a current ratio of 213% are not at unreasonable levels either.
- On the cautious side: operating and net profit were still in the red in Q1; the debt ratio has climbed to 236% and interest coverage is below 1x; and there are the Poland losses and the repeated support of funds to affiliates.
- In sum, in a phase where ESS and U.S. mass production lifts utilization on plan and absorbs the early costs, the revenue recovery has strong scope to feed through to normalized profit; conversely, if downstream battery demand slows or the overseas units' losses drag on, the added debt and cost burden remain as weaknesses.
- For now this is a spot where one checks, through quarterly results, whether the utilization recovery converts into profit.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
Compared against KOSDAQ names in the same secondary-battery value chain; but because Shinsung ST makes battery 'hardware components' such as busbars, module cases and ESS, its business character differs from materials (cathode) and separator makers, so rather than a direct multiple comparison it is viewed through the shared context of the same industry phase (downcycle).
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecopro BM | 277.09x | 6.31x | 2.28% |
| W-SCOPE Chungju Plant | 0.00x | 0.32x | -18.12% |
| L&F | 0.00x | 5.51x | -79.27% |
(a) Position versus peers: with the whole secondary-battery chain either loss-making or at trough profit in the EV-demand-slowdown downcycle, the P/E itself does not compare meaningfully in this phase. (b) Premium/discount: a P/B of 2.34x is higher than some loss-making, low-P/B separator and materials names but lower than large cathode names, placing it mid-pack within the chain. (c) The trailing P/E of about 440x is the result of profit being pressed down by one-off 2025 expansion costs, so it looks overstated relative to the underlying capability, and on a forward view the Q1 revenue recovery of +70.8% and the company's ESS and overseas expansion plans are the variables. That said, operating and net profit were still in the red through Q1, so it is hard to conclude that this year's profit direction has hardened into a normalized profit. Therefore, rather than dividing 'cheap/expensive,' it is appropriate to withhold judgment until it can be confirmed whether profit normalizes as utilization recovers.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩18,410 and the market capitalization is ₩166.4 billion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩22,918) and below its 60-day moving average (₩30,103). 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 33.1, a neutral level. The one-month change is -27.4%, the three-month change is -43.6%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -64.5%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 40 (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 40% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 27.1%. 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 -27.07% / 6M -33.03% / 12M -41.23%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 300.82x is above the sector median (7.76x). The P/B of 1.60x is above the sector median (0.56x).
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 0.5%, below the sector average (7.0%). The operating margin is 1.9%. The debt ratio is 236.1%, so the financial structure is somewhat high.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $82.6M | $84.2M | $77.5M | -7.96% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $5.5M | $5.8M | $1.5M | -74.21% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $6.0M | $4.7M | $366,967 | -92.21% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | — | $82.6M | $84.2M | $77.5M |
| Operating profit | — | — | $5.5M | $5.8M | $1.5M |
| Net profit | — | — | $6.0M | $4.7M | $366,967 |
| Revenue CAGR | 2-yr avg -3.16% | ||||
Revenue fell 8.0% year over year (2023 ₩124.7 billion → 2024 ₩127.0 billion → 2025 ₩116.9 billion), and the three-year trend is 'mixed'. The rate of decline widened from the prior year. Operating profit fell 74.2% year over year. The decline widened. Over the 3 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is -3.2%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -3.2%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 70.8% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- —
Points to watch
- Revenue fell 8.0% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-02-20Earnings2025 preliminary consolidated results: revenue ₩116.9 billion (-7.9%), operating profit ₩2.28 billion (-74.0%), net profit ₩550 million (-92.1%). The company directly cited, as causes of the change, front-loaded early costs of building the U.S. unit's mass-production line, the reshuffling of customer production bases and project delays, and widening losses at the Poland equity-invested unit.Short term: a sharp profit drop distorts the trailing P/E. Medium term: if the costs are one-off, early expansion costs, there is scope for normalization. Source
- 2026-04-27IRCorporate value enhancement plan (voluntary disclosure). Specifies the core business as 'secondary-battery (ESS/EV) components' and sets maintaining a 25% payout ratio as a shareholder-return goal. Sets securing overseas production bases, diversifying customers, and new-product/R&D investment as growth axes.Medium term: confirms the company's official shareholder-return and growth direction. However, revenue and profit target figures were not put forward. Source
- 2025-10-29FilingDecision to issue exchangeable bonds and to dispose of treasury shares. Financial activity to raise funds for overseas expansion and operations.Short term: funds secured. Medium term: a factor for potential share dilution and a change in financial structure. Source
- 2026-02-09Dividend2025 year-end cash dividend decision (₩200 per share, maintained at the prior-year level). On the same day, a decision on debt guarantees for others was also disclosed.Short term: dividend continues (dividend yield about 0.7%). Medium term: the debt guarantee needs to be watched together as an affiliate-support burden. Source
- 2026-04-06UpdateLoan decision (subsequently corrected twice in the filing). In the nature of funding support to affiliates such as subsidiaries.Medium term: a funding-burden factor as headquarters cash is tied up in overseas and affiliate entities. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-07Amended filing
- 2026-04-30Amended filing
- 2026-04-28Amended filing
- 2026-04-27Disclosure
- 2026-04-06Disclosure
- 2026-03-24Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-16PeriodicAnnual business report
- 2026-03-16Audit report
- 2026-03-09Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-09Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-02-20EarningsEarnings 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.