PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩1,850 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
KISCO Holdings, the holding company behind rebar makers Korea Steel and Hwanyoung Steel Industries, has weathered a four-year domestic demand downturn, and quarterly losses have started narrowing in 2026 as exports grow and utilization recovers.
2025 consolidated revenue was KRW 825.3bn with an operating loss of KRW 70.7bn and a controlling-interest net loss of KRW 18.2bn.
Q2 2026 revenue rebounded to KRW 273.3bn, with the operating loss narrowing to KRW 6.8bn, the smallest since Q4 2025.
Domestic rebar demand is estimated at an annualized 6.59 million tons based on H1 2026, a third straight yearly low, even as surging exports to the US lift utilization.
The debt ratio has stayed low at 9.6%-16.0%, and operating cash flow remained positive for four straight years even in loss-making years.
With net income in negative territory, PER comparisons are not meaningful, and the market appears to be pricing the shares against net asset value instead.
KISCO Holdings was founded in 1957 as Korea Steel Co. and converted into a pure holding company in 2008 through a spin-off of its investment division.
The company conducts no direct operations of its own; as a holding company, KISCO Holdings relies on dividend income and management service fees from its subsidiaries as its main sources of separate-entity revenue.
Its key subsidiaries include Korea Steel, Hwanyoung Steel Industries, Daeheung Industries, and Seoryung, with business segments spanning holding, steel manufacturing, leasing, textile sales, and financial investment.
Its core subsidiaries are Korea Steel and Hwanyoung Steel Industries, as Korea Steel and Hwanyoung Steel Industries, which operate the steel-manufacturing segment, are the key subsidiaries and center their business on rebar manufacturing.
KISCO Holdings owns a 60.34% stake in Korea Steel as of the latest fiscal year-end. Korea Steel produces rebar using 120-ton electric-furnace and rolling equipment and sells it to construction firms, distributors, and the Public Procurement Service, with rebar accounting for 93.96% of its revenue.
Hwanyoung Steel Industries similarly focuses on manufacturing and selling rebar, billets, sections, and other rolled products. Korea's rebar-making industry is an oligopoly among a small number of large producers, and the KISCO group participates through its two operating brands.
Under the holding structure, the two subsidiaries' earnings and dividend policies flow directly into KISCO Holdings' consolidated and separate financial statements.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩211.6B | -₩2.6B | −1.3% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩203.8B | -₩19.5B | −9.6% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩219.3B | -₩28.9B | −13.2% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩203B | -₩17.3B | −8.5% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩273.3B | -₩6.8B | −2.5% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩1.8T | ₩197.9B | ₩79.8B | 10.9% | 7.6% | 16.0% |
| 2023 | ₩1.5T | ₩149.3B | ₩91B | 9.7% | 8.1% | 12.7% |
| 2024 | ₩1T | -₩3.6B | ₩32.4B | −0.4% | 2.7% | 9.6% |
| 2025 | ₩825.3B | -₩70.7B | -₩18.2B | −8.6% | −1.6% | 10.9% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-08-17
2025 consolidated revenue was KRW 825.26bn, down about 18.6% from KRW 1,013.18bn in 2024. The operating loss widened sharply to KRW 70.7bn from KRW 3.6bn in 2024, pushing the operating margin down to -8.6%. The controlling-interest net result swung to a loss of KRW 18.2bn, reversing from a profit of KRW 32.4bn in 2024.
In 2022-2023 the company enjoyed revenue of KRW 1.5-1.8tn with operating margins of 9.7-10.9%, before turning to operating losses starting in 2024. By quarter, operating losses were largest in Q3 2025 (KRW 19.5bn) and Q4 2025 (KRW 28.9bn), with a loss of KRW 17.3bn persisting in Q1 2026.
However, Q2 2026 revenue rose 34.6% quarter-on-quarter to KRW 273.3bn, and the operating loss narrowed to KRW 6.8bn, the smallest since Q4 2025.
Over the trailing four quarters (Q3 2025-Q2 2026), the cumulative controlling-interest net loss was KRW 26.2bn; while still in the red, the quarterly loss size has eased since peaking in Q4 2025.
Even during the loss-making stretch, operating cash flow stayed positive every year: KRW 98.2bn in 2022, KRW 108.6bn in 2023, KRW 79.3bn in 2024, and KRW 49.5bn in 2025.
The debt ratio, which fell from 16.0% in 2022 to 9.6% in 2024, ticked back up to 10.9% in 2025, showing the balance sheet was managed relatively conservatively even as earnings deteriorated.
Domestic rebar demand has declined for several years amid a prolonged construction slump, and, per one industry tally, this year's rebar demand is estimated at 6.59 million tons for the first half, the lowest for a third consecutive year.
Eugene Investment & Securities noted in a May 2026 report that domestic rebar demand has declined since 2021 due to the construction downturn, and the industry's average utilization rate plunged from 82% in 2021 to 50% in 2025, resulting in structural oversupply with roughly 5 million tons of idle capacity.
To offset this domestic shortfall, Korean rebar makers have ramped up exports, and Korean rebar exports to the US surged from 90,000 tons for all of last year to 270,000 tons in the first quarter of this year.
The same report projected that 2026 Korean rebar exports to the US would reach 800,000 tons, equal to 8% of US rebar demand. Driven by export growth, domestic rebar industry utilization improved to 61% in January-April 2026, up 11 percentage points year-on-year, easing the per-ton fixed-cost burden.
Even so, rising steel scrap costs meant the three major dedicated rebar makers - Daehan Steel, Korea Steel, and Hwanyoung Steel Industries - remained in the red in the first half of 2026.
Meanwhile, China's production cuts have been easing global steel oversupply, creating a favorable external environment for Korea's steel industry.
The government's 2026 SOC budget was set at KRW 27.5tn, up KRW 2tn (7.9%) year-on-year, providing some support to public-sector demand, but the 'K-shaped' divergence in private-sector activity suggests regional gaps between the Seoul metro area and other regions could widen for rebar and other major steel products as well.
Management has cited cost reduction, securing lower-cost raw materials, diversifying sales channels, digital transformation of production processes, and expanding high-value-added eco-friendly and low-carbon products as key tasks for improving profitability.
Subsidiary Korea Steel added construction-materials manufacturing and sales to its business purpose, a step taken to review diversification into construction-material manufacturing that was decided by the board in February 2025 and approved at the March 2025 annual shareholders' meeting.
Korea Steel disclosed that it terminated a trust agreement with 100% completion on February 20, 2026. On the management front, CEO Moon Jong-in stepped down early on February 28, 2026 for personal reasons, and the company has since operated under CEO Lee Byung-je.
On the industry side, whether export volumes to the US and utilization gains continue, and whether improving domestic construction order and permit data actually translate into rebar demand, remain the key variables to watch for future earnings.
The expanded SOC budget and China's production cuts are favorable external factors, but despite the budget increase, actual investment execution faces real constraints, and cases of unexecuted budgets are rising due to surging construction costs, so the pace of execution warrants continued monitoring.
With the controlling-interest net loss continuing over the trailing four quarters, price-to-earnings comparisons are not meaningfully applicable at this time. Instead, the market appears to price the shares relative to net asset value, with the stock trading at a discount to book value.
This can be read as a reflection of years of weak industry conditions and deteriorating earnings, and similar discounts can be observed among comparable steel holding companies and steelmakers.
On the dividend side, a notable feature is that cash dividends have been maintained even through the earnings downturn, though the absolute dividend yield changes with the share price and should be checked against the real-time figures shown on screen.
Ultimately, current pricing metrics are a function of how much, and how quickly, earnings recover toward levels seen in past upcycles.
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 2026-08-17
Operating cash flow stayed positive for four consecutive years and the debt ratio remained low at 9.6-16.0%, highlighting relatively solid financial buffers even through the loss-making period. This could provide flexibility for dividend payments or new-business investment if industry conditions improve.
Filling the domestic demand gap with exports to the US and elsewhere has lifted industry utilization from 50% in 2025 to 61% in January-April 2026, easing the per-ton fixed-cost burden. Korean rebar exports to the US have also shown clear quarterly growth.
China's continued production cuts are gradually easing global steel oversupply, and the government's larger 2026 SOC budget provides some favorable conditions for public-sector rebar demand.
Domestic rebar demand is estimated at an annualized roughly 6.59 million tons based on H1 2026, a third straight yearly low, with structural oversupply persisting amid a prolonged construction downturn.
Continued cost pressure from rising scrap prices meant the three dedicated rebar makers stayed in the red in H1 2026 despite export growth and price increases. Profitability is recovering more slowly than revenue.
While private-sector construction recovery is concentrated in the Seoul metro area, regional construction markets remain structurally weak, raising concerns that a 'K-shaped' divergence could widen regional gaps in rebar and other steel product demand.
If the construction recovery is delayed beyond expectations or regional property market weakness persists, rebar demand could contract further. Continued softness in new construction starts and permits could push back the timing of an earnings recovery.
Steel scrap, which makes up a large share of rebar production costs, is highly volatile, and rising electricity and other energy costs add to the cost burden. If price increases fail to keep pace with rising costs, profitability recovery could be delayed.
Changes in US steel tariff policy or anti-dumping measures could directly affect the profitability of recently expanded exports to the US. Greater dependence on a single export market also increases sensitivity to that country's policy shifts.
Check the Q3 2026 consolidated earnings disclosure — whether the loss-narrowing trend seen through Q2 continues is the key point to watch.
Monitor monthly rebar production and export statistics from bodies such as the Korea Iron & Steel Association to check whether US export volumes and utilization gains continue.
Watch for follow-up disclosures on Korea Steel's review of entering construction-materials manufacturing, including any concrete investment or business plans.
Review the FY2026 annual business report and annual shareholders' meeting for confirmed full-year results, dividend policy, and any management changes.
KISCO Holdings has been directly affected by a four-year domestic construction downturn through its rebar subsidiaries Korea Steel and Hwanyoung Steel Industries, and continued to post a consolidated operating loss and controlling-interest net loss in 2025.
However, since 2026 export growth and a recovery in utilization have led quarterly losses to narrow after peaking in Q4 2025. A low debt ratio and four straight years of positive operating cash flow underpin a relatively stable financial base despite the weak industry backdrop.
On the other hand, domestic rebar demand is estimated to hit a third consecutive yearly low amid structural oversupply, and cost pressures from steel scrap continue to constrain profitability recovery.
Going forward, whether US export volumes and utilization gains persist, and whether domestic construction orders and starts actually translate into rebar demand, will be the key variables shaping the earnings trajectory. Korea Steel's review of diversifying into construction materials is also a point to watch over the medium term.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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