PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩0 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
Chobi has returned to annual profitability in 2024-2025, but the gap between its profitable spring-summer season and loss-making autumn-winter season remains wide, while a non-core equity stake dispute (Daeyu) adds an additional overhang.
FY2025 revenue was KRW 99.7bn with operating profit of KRW 3.82bn (3.8% margin) and owner net income of KRW 1.97bn, extending a second straight year of profitability after the 2023 loss.
Revenue reached KRW 43.6bn in Q1 2026 and KRW 46.4bn in Q2 2026 during the peak season, but the off-season quarters (Q3-Q4 2025) posted revenue of only KRW 11.3bn and KRW 14.1bn with operating losses, repeating the recurring seasonal loss pattern.
As a subsidiary in which parent company Kyung Nong holds a 54.56% stake, Chobi distributes roughly 280 complex fertilizer products through NongHyup Economic Holdings and nationwide NongHyup branches and dealers.
In 2025, Chobi and Kyung Nong jointly acquired a large stake in delisted company Daeyu and entered a management-control dispute, but reports indicate they lost the shareholder vote at the extraordinary general meeting and failed to gain control.
Middle East tensions and concerns over a Hormuz Strait blockade in H1 2026 raised fears of disruption to fertilizer feedstock (urea, ammonia) supply, driving sharp volatility across fertilizer theme stocks including Chobi.
Chobi, founded in 1955 as Korea's first privately funded complex fertilizer maker, holds fertilizer production licenses for roughly 670 items, including customized eco-friendly fertilizers based on soil testing results.
Of these, the company actually produces and sells around 280 complex fertilizer products, primarily through NongHyup Economic Holdings and nationwide NongHyup branches and dealers.
The largest shareholder is crop-protection specialist Kyung Nong, which holds a 54.56% stake, positioning Chobi as the fertilizer arm within the Dongoh Group's affiliate structure.
The company has focused on developing eco-friendly and functional fertilizers for product differentiation, replacing lower-margin products with higher value-added items.
Under its 2026 organic fertilizer support program, Chobi is supplying four premium organic fertilizer products nationwide, a lineup aimed at rising demand for slow-release, easy-to-apply fertilizers amid an aging farming population.
Competition in the domestic market comes from Namhae Chemical, the country's largest fertilizer producer, along with Hyosung ONB, Nubo, and KG Chemical, with Chobi classified as a relatively smaller player.
In 2025, Chobi also jointly acquired a large stake in delisted company Daeyu together with affiliate Kyung Nong, becoming involved in a management-control dispute outside its core business.
Because urea and ammonia, the raw materials for nitrogen fertilizer, are byproducts of natural gas and oil production, the company's input costs are directly exposed to overseas energy market trends, particularly in the Middle East.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩49.1B | ₩5.3B | 10.9% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩11.3B | -₩2.6B | −23.2% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩14.1B | -₩700M | −5.1% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩43.6B | ₩4.7B | 10.8% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩46.4B | ₩3.8B | 8.3% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩148.6B | ₩11.9B | ₩8.6B | 8.0% | 14.1% | 111.5% |
| 2023 | ₩114.7B | -₩5.6B | -₩9B | −4.9% | −17.3% | 126.8% |
| 2024 | ₩102.4B | ₩4.8B | ₩600M | 4.7% | 1.2% | 127.7% |
| 2025 | ₩99.7B | ₩3.8B | ₩2B | 3.8% | 3.6% | 125.4% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-08-23
Chobi's annual revenue declined for four consecutive years, from KRW 148.6bn in 2022 to KRW 114.7bn in 2023, KRW 102.4bn in 2024, and KRW 99.7bn in 2025.
On the profitability side, operating profit swung sharply from KRW 11.9bn (8.0% margin) in 2022 to an operating loss of KRW 5.6bn (-4.9%) in 2023, before recovering to operating profit of KRW 4.8bn (4.7%) in 2024 and KRW 3.8bn (3.8%) in 2025, maintaining profitability for two straight years.
Owner net income plunged from KRW 8.6bn in 2022 to a loss of KRW 9.0bn in 2023, then recovered to KRW 0.6bn in 2024 and KRW 2.0bn in 2025, with the profit scale expanding.
Quarterly figures reveal pronounced seasonality: Q2 2025 revenue of KRW 49.1bn and operating profit of KRW 5.3bn marked the seasonal peak, but Q3 revenue collapsed to KRW 11.3bn with an operating loss of KRW 2.6bn, followed by another operating loss of KRW 0.7bn on revenue of KRW 14.1bn in Q4.
Entering 2026, revenue of KRW 43.6bn with operating profit of KRW 4.7bn in Q1 and revenue of KRW 46.4bn with operating profit of KRW 3.8bn in Q2 confirmed another seasonal recovery.
This reflects a recurring structural pattern in which domestic fertilizer demand concentrates in spring planting and fertilization season, driving first-half performance, while the second half (Q3-Q4) sees inventory adjustment and low sales volumes that generate losses.
On cash flow, operating cash flow was negative at KRW -13.7bn in 2022 amid heavy inventory burdens during the raw material price spike, before improving to KRW 4.8bn in 2023 and KRW 4.0bn in 2025, with 2024 posting a modest negative KRW 0.5bn. The debt ratio rose from 111.5% in 2022 to a range of roughly 125-128% and has remained stable since.
Korea's inorganic fertilizer industry has historically been heavily influenced by government fertilizer policy, with production volumes on a long-term decline since the 2008 raw material price spike before stabilizing at roughly 2.3 million tons annually in recent years, according to industry sources.
Because urea and ammonia, the raw materials for nitrogen fertilizer, are structurally byproducts of oil and gas production concentrated in the Middle East, escalating US-Israel-Iran tensions and fears of a Hormuz Strait blockade in H1 2026 repeatedly triggered theme-driven surges and swings across fertilizer and feed-related stocks.
Media reports noted that Chobi's share price, alongside that of Korea's largest fertilizer producer Namhae Chemical, tended to react relatively earlier and more sharply when such issues emerged.
However, one market analysis distinguished between structural beneficiaries whose earnings actually follow through, such as Namhae Chemical and Lotte Fine Chemical, and momentum-driven names like Chobi where expectations tend to be priced in ahead of actual results when issues surface.
The spread of eco-friendly agriculture trends and rising demand for slow-release, easy-to-apply fertilizers amid an aging farm population are cited as industry-wide drivers of product upgrading.
In the competitive landscape, Chobi is classified as a small-to-mid-sized integrated fertilizer maker behind market leader Namhae Chemical, with access to NongHyup distribution channels via parent Kyung Nong's combined crop-protection and fertilizer network cited as a relative strength.
Parent company Kyung Nong's H1 2026 consolidated results showed revenue up 9.7% year-on-year but operating profit down 4.6%, suggesting that fertilizer cost burdens are weighing on profitability across the industry.
Under its 2026 organic fertilizer support program, Chobi confirmed it would supply four new products—Eobak-ae Calcium, Cheotgeoreum Mixed Oil Cake, Yugi-ae Gold, and Cheotgeoreum Gold—to farmers nationwide, with applications reportedly accepted from November 10 to December 9, 2025.
This reflects an effort to diversify the product portfolio by introducing fast-absorbing granular formulations alongside existing pellet-type products.
Given the pronounced seasonality of the business, second-half 2026 (Q3-Q4) results carry the risk of repeating the historical off-season profit pressure, remaining a key variable for the company's full-year trajectory.
On the raw material side, volatility in urea and ammonia prices tied to shifts in Middle East geopolitics could directly affect the cost structure, warranting continued monitoring. While the company described its expanded stake in Daeyu as being for "simple investment purposes,
Chobi's earnings moved past the 2023 loss year into a profit-recovery phase in 2024-2025, and the most recent four-quarter window continues to show a profitable trend.
The price-to-book ratio is understood to trade in a range without a large discount or premium to net asset value, and no dividend payment has been confirmed for the most recent fiscal year, making a dividend-yield-based approach difficult to apply to this stock.
Earnings-based valuation multiples have shown considerable year-to-year variation given the company's history of large swings in profit scale, making it difficult to draw firm trend conclusions from any single point-in-time multiple.
Market commentary has also noted a tendency for share price reactions to outpace earnings fundamentals when fertilizer-theme issues surface, suggesting that seasonal earnings patterns and theme-driven volatility should both be weighed when assessing valuation.
PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are all calculated in-house (the same method as Naver and Toss) · Dividend yield = cash dividend per share from DART filings (supplemented by KRX) ÷ current price · As of 2026-08-23
Following an operating loss of KRW 5.6bn in 2023, the company posted operating profits of KRW 4.8bn and KRW 3.8bn in 2024 and 2025 respectively, sustaining a profitable trend. Owner net income also expanded from KRW 0.6bn in 2024 to KRW 2.0bn in 2025, showing a clear recovery pattern. The seasonal profit was repeated in Q1-Q2 2026, supporting the downside of annual results.
Largest shareholder Kyung Nong holds a 54.56% stake, forming an integrated crop-protection and fertilizer distribution system. The company has secured stable sales channels through NongHyup Economic Holdings and nationwide NongHyup branches and dealers, reducing the burden of building new sales networks.
It also holds production licenses for roughly 670 items, including customized eco-friendly fertilizers, providing a foundation for product diversification.
Through its 2026 organic fertilizer support program, the company launched four new products including Eobak-ae Calcium, expanding its higher value-added product lineup. Rising demand for slow-release, easy-to-apply products amid an aging farm population aligns with this product strategy. The company continues its strategy of replacing lower-margin products with higher value-added items.
Q3 and Q4 2025 revenue fell sharply from the peak season to KRW 11.3bn and KRW 14.1bn respectively, with operating losses of KRW 2.6bn and KRW 0.7bn. This repeating pattern of first-half profits and second-half losses drives significant volatility in annual results. A similar pattern in H2 2026 cannot be ruled out.
Annual revenue declined for four consecutive years, from KRW 148.6bn in 2022 to KRW 99.7bn in 2025. This can be interpreted as a combined result of selling price adjustments following raw material price declines and intensifying market competition. Alongside the revenue contraction, the operating margin also declined from 8.0% in 2022 to 3.8% in 2025.
In 2025, Chobi and Kyung Nong jointly acquired a large stake in delisted Daeyu and became involved in a management-control dispute, but reports indicate they lost the extraordinary shareholder vote.
While the company described this as a simple investment, the deployment of internal funds into a stake unrelated to its core business means the timing and valuation of any future disposal could affect non-operating results, and legal or reputational risk from the litigation outcome remains.
Urea and ammonia, the raw materials for nitrogen fertilizer, are produced as byproducts in oil- and gas-producing regions such as the Middle East, making them directly exposed to international energy markets and geopolitical conflict.
In H1 2026, concerns over Middle East tensions spread fears of feedstock supply disruption, and a recurrence of similar conditions could again increase cost burdens. A distribution structure that cannot immediately pass through cost changes into selling prices can also pressure margins.
Because domestic fertilizer demand concentrates in the spring planting and fertilization season, the gap between first-half and second-half results is large, and the pattern of off-season operating losses seen in Q3-Q4 2025 has recurred.
In 2022, operating cash flow deteriorated to KRW -13.7bn amid inventory burdens during a raw material price spike, illustrating that inventory management failures can strain cash flow.
With largest shareholder Kyung Nong holding a high 54.56% stake, alignment of interests with minority shareholders remains an ongoing concern.
As seen in the 2025 Daeyu stake acquisition and involvement in a management-control dispute, deploying internal funds into investment activities unrelated to the core business can raise market questions about capital allocation efficiency.
The Q3 2026 quarterly report is expected to be disclosed around this time, warranting a check on whether the historical pattern of off-season earnings deterioration repeats.
This period allows for monitoring the acceptance of applications for the 2027 organic fertilizer support program and any new product lineup announcements, indicating the product strategy for the next fertilization season.
Additional disclosures related to litigation or disposal of the Daeyu stake may emerge, requiring a check on potential non-operating profit-and-loss impact.
Continued monitoring of Middle East geopolitical developments and international urea/ammonia price trends is needed to check for changes in cost burden.
This is the expected timing for the FY2026 annual results and dividend policy announcement, allowing a check on whether dividend payments resume given the absence of dividends in recent fiscal years.
Chobi rebounded from its 2023 loss to post two consecutive years of operating and net profit in 2024-2025, and the profitable seasonal trend continued into H1 2026.
However, given the industry characteristic of demand concentrating in spring, the pattern of recurring operating losses in the off-season Q3-Q4 quarters remains pronounced, resulting in considerable annual earnings volatility.
Revenue has contracted for four consecutive years since 2022, and the operating margin has also declined, suggesting the profit recovery owes more to cost control and product mix improvement than to revenue growth.
The 2025 management-control dispute surrounding the Daeyu stake acquisition and the reported loss in litigation remain a capital allocation issue unrelated to the core business, and future disposal or valuation outcomes for that stake could affect non-operating results.
Volatility in fertilizer feedstock prices and supply tied to Middle East geopolitical developments is an external variable amplifying industry-wide swings, and it is worth noting that Chobi's share price has tended to show theme-driven reactions when such issues surface, beyond earnings fundamentals alone.
Overall, the sustainability of the profit recovery, whether the seasonal earnings gap narrows, and the resolution of the non-core investment risk stand out as key variables to monitor going forward.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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