PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩80 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
With revenue declining and operating losses widening, a February 2026 fire at the Osan plant has added further uncertainty to Korea Export Packaging's path back to profitability.
Consolidated operating loss reached KRW 6.56bn and net loss KRW 3.88bn in 2025, marking a clear deterioration.
Operating losses widened further in both 1Q26 (KRW -7.17bn) and 2Q26 (KRW -9.73bn) versus the prior quarter.
A fire at the Osan plant in February 2026 halted corrugated paperboard production, with no confirmed restart date at the time.
Revenue has declined for four consecutive years, from KRW 341.4bn in 2022 to KRW 289.6bn in 2025.
Peers such as Taerim Packaging and Yujin Panji also posted 2025 operating losses, indicating sector-wide margin pressure.
Korea Export Packaging was founded in 1957 and listed on the Korea Exchange in 1974, and it belongs to the KOSPI paper and wood products sector.
Its business structure is vertically integrated, running from paperboard base paper production through corrugated sheet to final corrugated box manufacturing, with base paper sourced internally and fed sequentially into sheet and box processes.
Base paper produced at the Osan plant does not generate separate external sales and instead serves as an intermediate input for the company's own sheet and box production. The company has an affiliate, Hansu Pack, which produces corrugated boxes and related components, complementing group-wide production capacity.
Its main customers are distribution and manufacturing companies in agriculture, processed food, and e-commerce that require logistics packaging, giving it a demand base tied to consumer-goods distribution growth.
Competitors with similar base-paper-to-box vertical integration include Daerim Paper, Sindaeyang Paper, Taerim Paper (Taerim Packaging), Asia Paper, Daeyoung Packaging, and Sambo Panji, with many leading firms in the industry sharing this integrated production model.
The corrugated packaging industry tends to expand roughly in line with GDP growth, but its cost structure is sensitive to swings in electricity and fuel costs as well as raw material inputs such as recovered paper and pulp, given their high share of production costs.
Beyond paperboard and box manufacturing, the company also engages in real estate sale and leasing as well as import-export business, giving it some ancillary revenue sources outside its core operations.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩74.7B | ₩500M | 0.6% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩76.3B | -₩1B | −1.4% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩67.6B | -₩5.1B | −7.6% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩69.1B | -₩7.2B | −10.4% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩77.2B | -₩9.7B | −12.6% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩341.4B | ₩25.7B | ₩20.3B | 7.5% | 7.2% | 23.0% |
| 2023 | ₩312.3B | ₩22.9B | ₩19B | 7.3% | 6.4% | 20.7% |
| 2024 | ₩301.8B | -₩600M | ₩3.4B | −0.2% | 1.2% | 19.8% |
| 2025 | ₩289.6B | -₩6.6B | -₩3.9B | −2.3% | −1.4% | 20.7% |
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
Consolidated revenue in 2025 was KRW 289.6bn, down 4.0% from KRW 301.8bn in 2024, with an operating loss of KRW 6.56bn and a net loss attributable to owners of KRW 3.88bn.
In the preceding years, 2022 (revenue KRW 341.4bn, operating profit KRW 25.7bn, operating margin 7.5%) and 2023 (revenue KRW 312.3bn, operating profit KRW 22.9bn, operating margin 7.3%) showed relatively solid operating margins, before operating profit turned negative in 2024 at KRW -0.59bn (margin -0.2%) and losses widened further in 2025.
Notably, despite the 2024 operating loss, net income attributable to owners remained positive at KRW 3.40bn, suggesting non-operating items offset the operating shortfall.
On a quarterly basis, 2Q25 posted revenue of KRW 74.7bn and a small operating profit of KRW 0.47bn, but the company swung back to loss from 3Q25 (revenue KRW 76.3bn, operating loss KRW 1.05bn), with 4Q25 revenue falling to KRW 67.6bn as the operating loss widened to KRW 5.15bn.
The operating loss widened further to KRW 7.17bn in 1Q26, and even as revenue recovered to KRW 77.2bn in 2Q26, the operating loss expanded to KRW 9.73bn, extending a streak of sequentially larger quarterly losses.
Even so, 2Q26 net income attributable to owners was positive at KRW 0.89bn despite the wider operating loss, likely reflecting non-operating items, and this should not be read as an improvement in core operating profitability.
Over the trailing four quarters (3Q25 through 2Q26), the cumulative net loss attributable to owners totaled KRW 9.45bn, underscoring an ongoing phase of accumulating quarterly losses.
The company has cited rising costs and falling product selling prices as the main drivers of the deteriorating earnings structure, a dynamic tied to an industry-wide difficulty in passing raw-material cost increases through to box prices.
The corrugated packaging industry has shown broadly shaky profitability since 2024, as the pandemic-era demand boost has faded. Media reports confirm that Taerim Packaging, Yujin Panji, and Korea Export Packaging all posted annual operating losses in 2025.
Daeyoung Packaging was designated an administrative issue after its share price stayed below KRW 1,000 for 30 consecutive trading days, highlighting simultaneous financial and share-price risks within the sector.
Performance diverged in 2Q26 results as well: Sambo Panji's revenue rose 13.3% year-on-year, and Daeyoung Packaging posted 12.3% revenue growth with a 24.9% increase in operating profit, while Korea Export Packaging's revenue grew 3.3% yet the company remained in operating loss.
Industry participants note that under a structure where rising base-paper costs are difficult to fully pass through to box prices, weak sales have led some players to cut prices further to compete on volume instead.
The corrugated industry itself retains a long-term demand base supported by e-commerce growth, packaging demand from agriculture and processed food, and substitution away from styrofoam cushioning, even as the sector consolidates from small specialized plants toward large integrated facilities.
Given the industry's energy-intensive nature, electricity and fuel cost burdens remain a persistent risk, and sector-wide margins swing significantly with fluctuations in raw material (recovered paper, pulp) prices.
The most immediate variable is the fire that broke out at the Osan plant on February 7, 2026, which destroyed buildings and machinery and halted corrugated base-paper production.
The company stated that the Osan plant was covered by comprehensive property insurance and that the payout amount would be determined based on the insurer's loss assessment.
As of the time of the fire, no restart date had been confirmed, and whether operations have since normalized needs to be verified through subsequent disclosures.
Because base paper produced at Osan did not generate separate external sales and instead served as an intermediate input for the company's own sheet and box production, the extent of any group-wide substitute production capacity is a key variable in gauging the scale of any sales disruption.
On the industry side, the cost pass-through structure between base paper, sheet, and box remains imperfect, so margin pressure could persist if rising raw material costs continue to be only partially reflected in selling prices.
Because the positive 2Q26 net income may partly reflect one-off items such as fire-related insurance settlements, subsequent disclosures should be checked to confirm the actual items recognized and how any residual losses are treated.
No official revenue or profit guidance from the company has been identified to date, and the trajectory of future results appears likely to hinge heavily on the timing of the Osan plant's normalization and whether industry-wide pricing power recovers.
The share price trades below net asset value, placing the price-to-book ratio in a lower range compared with past profitable periods. Given the accumulated net losses attributable to owners over the trailing four quarters, earnings-based valuation metrics are currently difficult to compare meaningfully.
Dividends have historically been paid based on results from profitable years, but amid the recent stretch of losses, whether and how much dividends continue is likely to hinge on the pace of any earnings recovery.
Since performance has diverged among peers within the paper and wood products sector, relative valuation comparisons against industry peers can shift depending on each company's own pace of earnings recovery.
Overall, the current valuation can be characterized by two simultaneous features: a discount to net asset value and limited interpretability of earnings-based metrics.
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
The vertically integrated structure, spanning base paper to boxes, provides relative flexibility in raw material sourcing and inventory management. This can partly buffer cost volatility compared with peers reliant on external base-paper procurement during periods of sharp price increases. Complementary production capacity through affiliate Hansu Pack further supports this structure.
E-commerce growth, packaging demand from agriculture and processed food, and the substitution of styrofoam cushioning with corrugated material are cited as factors supporting long-term demand for corrugated boxes. As the industry consolidates toward large integrated facilities, this shift could favor scaled producers.
The company has stated that property damage from the Osan plant fire will be partly covered by comprehensive property insurance. Industry sources have also noted that high insurance coverage across the sector could help minimize financial damage from such fires. However, the actual amount recovered remains uncertain until the loss assessment is finalized.
After turning to an operating loss in 2024, the loss widened to KRW 6.56bn in 2025, and losses continued to grow in both 1Q26 (KRW -7.17bn) and 2Q26 (KRW -9.73bn) of 2026. Revenue has declined for four straight years, from KRW 341.4bn in 2022 to KRW 289.6bn in 2025. Revenue decline and earnings deterioration are occurring simultaneously.
The February 2026 fire at the Osan plant halted corrugated base-paper production, and no restart date had been confirmed as of the time of the fire. Industry sources noted that when a plant halts operations amid rising financial strain, fixed costs such as labor and depreciation continue regardless of sales disruption. A prolonged delay in normalization risks further loss accumulation.
Industry sources note that a persistent inability to fully pass through rising base-paper costs to box prices has led some producers to cut prices further and compete on volume when sales are weak.
This structural constraint is seen as an industry-wide problem that individual companies' cost-cutting efforts alone are unlikely to resolve.
Recovered paper and pulp prices, along with electricity and fuel costs, fluctuate significantly with global market conditions, leaving the cost structure heavily exposed to external variables. The company has cited rising costs as a key driver of its deteriorating earnings. Delayed cost pass-through during periods of rising input costs could intensify margin pressure.
The February 2026 fire at the Osan plant resulted in the loss of buildings and machinery, with no confirmed restart date. A recurrence of similar facility incidents could repeat production disruptions and recovery cost burdens.
Corrugated packaging demand is closely tied to e-commerce, logistics, and consumer goods distribution, so a slowdown in consumer spending could reduce shipment volumes. Multiple industry players have already posted annual operating losses, reflecting the impact of the broader economic downturn on results.
Watch the 3Q26 report for updates on the Osan plant's normalization progress and whether the trend of widening operating losses continues.
Check for disclosure of the insurance loss assessment outcome related to the Osan plant fire and confirmation of when operations fully resume.
Assess whether seasonal demand and base-paper price negotiations translate into improved pricing power for the company.
The FY2026 annual business report is expected to confirm full-year operating results and finalize how fire-related losses were accounted for.
Korea Export Packaging has seen its losses continue to widen since turning to an operating loss in 2024, extending through 2025 and into the first half of 2026. Revenue has declined for four consecutive years, and the trailing four-quarter net loss attributable to owners exceeds KRW 9.4bn.
Compounding this, a fire-related production halt at the Osan plant in February 2026 has added near-term fixed-cost and recovery-cost risks. That said, the vertically integrated base-paper-to-box structure and insurance coverage are cited as factors that could cushion part of the impact.
Sector-wide, multiple peers including Taerim Packaging and Yujin Panji also posted 2025 operating losses, indicating that the weak performance reflects structural industry issues rather than being unique to this company alone.
The future earnings path is likely to hinge significantly on the timing of the Osan plant's normalization and whether pricing power for base paper costs recovers.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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