KOSPIHolding Companies010060

OCI Holdings Company

₩236,500▲ 7.01%2026-10-02 close

Market Cap

₩4.4T

Turnover

₩89.4B

Volume

380,000 shares

Shares out.

18.7M

PER

113.6×

PBR

1.0×

EPS

₩2,003

Dividend Yield

0.44%

PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩1,000 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close

Report overview

Non-China Polysilicon Sold Out, Profit Recovery Still Early

OCI Holdings' existing Malaysian polysilicon capacity is effectively fully committed under long-term agreements and second-quarter 2026 operating profit widened to KRW 108.1bn, yet annual earnings power remains far below the 2022-2023 boom.

1
Second-quarter 2026 revenue was KRW 1,023.2bn with operating profit of KRW 108.1bn, versus an operating loss of KRW 80.3bn in the second quarter of 2025. It nonetheless came in below the KRW 122.9bn consensus of eight brokerages compiled by Infomax.
2
On its July 2026 earnings call the company said its 35,000-tonne Malaysian polysilicon capacity was effectively sold out under long-term agreements, and laid out a plan to reach 70,000 tonnes and 11.5GW of Vietnamese wafer capacity by 2029.
3
On August 6, 2026 (local time) the U.S. signed a Section 232 proclamation introducing minimum import prices of USD 21/kg for polysilicon and USD 100/kg for ingots and wafers, plus a 15% tariff on derivatives, effective December 4.
4
For full-year 2025 revenue was KRW 3,380.1bn with an operating loss of KRW 57.6bn and an owners' net loss of KRW 89.9bn, while operating cash flow was a positive KRW 553.9bn, a wide gap between accounting profit and cash generation.
5
Earnings recovery hinges heavily on polysilicon prices, volumes and U.S. policy implementation, while funding the announced KRW 1,430bn expansion through 2029 remains a parallel task.

Business structure

OCI Holdings is a holding company overseeing solar polysilicon, chemicals and energy subsidiaries, a structure settled after the 2023 spin-off. Its core unit is OCI TerraSus, which produces solar-grade polysilicon in Sarawak, Malaysia, and its polysilicon meets RE100 requirements by running on Malaysian hydropower.

The group makes polysilicon in Malaysia, processes it into wafers at Vietnamese unit NST, and assembles cells and modules at Texas-based Mission Solar Energy, forming a traceable non-China value chain.

At the Mission Solar Energy site, a total of USD 265m is being invested to start 1GW of commercial cell production in the first half of 2026 and to build past 2GW through gradual additions in the second half.

In the U.S., development arm OCI Energy builds and sells solar projects, and in the second quarter of 2026 the U.S. unit posted KRW 60bn of operating profit on the sale of a 500MW project, as relayed to analysts.

Listed subsidiary OCI covers basic and carbon chemicals plus semiconductor materials, where its Gunsan plant produces 4,700 tonnes a year of 11-to-12-nines high-purity semiconductor polysilicon.

Incheon urban-development unit DCRE adds separate earnings from housing sales, so consolidated results reflect a mixed portfolio of polysilicon, U.S. development, chemicals and property.

Competitively it faces large Chinese players such as Tongwei and GCL in solar grade, and in semiconductor grade a handful of producers including Wacker of Germany, Hemlock of the U.S. and Tokuyama of Japan.

Earnings trend

Quarterly revenue · Operating profit

₩776.2B-₩80.3B25Q2₩845.1B-₩53.3B25Q3₩810.6B₩27.3B25Q4₩892.4B₩10.9B26Q1₩1T₩108.1B26Q2

RevenueOperating profit

Annual revenue · Operating profit

₩4.7T₩976.7B2022₩2.6T₩531.2B2023₩3.6T₩101.5B2024₩3.4T-₩57.6B2025

RevenueOperating profit

Quarterly results · Last 5 quarters
Quarter	Revenue	Operating profit	Op. margin
2025Q2	₩776.2B	-₩80.3B	−10.4%
2025Q3	₩845.1B	-₩53.3B	−6.3%
2025Q4	₩810.6B	₩27.3B	3.4%
2026Q1	₩892.4B	₩10.9B	1.2%
2026Q2	₩1T	₩108.1B	10.6%

Annual results
Year	Revenue	Operating profit	Net income (parent)	Op. margin	ROE	Debt-to-equity
2022	₩4.7T	₩976.7B	₩880.3B	20.9%	22.5%	68.2%
2023	₩2.6T	₩531.2B	₩713.5B	20.0%	19.2%	56.1%
2024	₩3.6T	₩101.5B	₩97.7B	2.8%	2.5%	67.4%
2025	₩3.4T	-₩57.6B	-₩89.9B	−1.7%	−2.3%	66.3%

Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-09-04

Earnings analysis

On confirmed numbers, 2022 revenue was KRW 4,671.3bn with operating profit of KRW 976.7bn (20.9% margin) and 2023 revenue KRW 2,649.7bn with operating profit of KRW 531.2bn (20.0%), two straight years of roughly 20% margins.

The sharp 2023 revenue decline, however, mixes in the spin-off and changes in consolidation scope, so it is not directly comparable with 2022.

In 2024 revenue rose to KRW 3,577.4bn but operating profit collapsed to KRW 101.5bn (2.8%), and in 2025 revenue of KRW 3,380.1bn came with an operating loss of KRW 57.6bn and an owners' net loss of KRW 89.9bn.

Operating cash flow in 2025 was an inflow of KRW 553.9bn versus KRW 116.4bn in 2024, so weak accounting profit did not translate into cash drain.

Quarterly, the operating loss narrowed from KRW 80.3bn in the second quarter of 2025 to KRW 53.3bn in the third, then turned to profits of KRW 27.3bn in the fourth quarter, KRW 10.9bn in the first quarter of 2026 and KRW 108.1bn in the second, three consecutive quarters in the black.

Revenue also expanded for five straight quarters from KRW 776.2bn in the second quarter of 2025 to KRW 1,023.2bn in the second quarter of 2026, lifting the latter quarter's operating margin above 10%.

The thin first-quarter 2026 profit was attributed to lower utilization during the Malaysian polysilicon unit's 15-month scheduled maintenance plus KRW 13bn of inventory valuation losses, while in the second quarter TerraSus completed maintenance and returned to normal operation, cutting its operating loss from KRW 27bn in the prior quarter to KRW 3bn.

Owners' net profit of KRW 48.3bn in the second quarter lagged operating profit by a wide margin, reflecting minority interests plus financing and tax costs, consistent with non-controlling equity rising from KRW 93.8bn in 2023 to KRW 856.3bn in 2024.

On balance-sheet strength, the debt-to-equity ratio was 68.2% in 2022, 56.1% in 2023, 67.4% in 2024 and 66.3% in 2025, held in the 60% range.

Industry analysis

The polysilicon industry is shaped simultaneously by China-centred oversupply and U.S.-led supply-chain separation.

China produced 1.32m tonnes in 2025, about 78% of global supply of 1.7m tonnes, and Chinese spot prices stood at RMB 41,000 per tonne at end-March 2026, down 23.1% in a month, leaving domestic prices near cost.

In response, China's eight largest polysilicon producers jointly signed a pledge in Shanghai on August 6, 2026 not to sell below cost, an attempt to set a price floor. On the other side, U.S. rules have rewritten the pricing framework for non-China volumes.

Under the Section 232 proclamation signed on August 6, 2026, from December 4 polysilicon cannot enter the U.S. below USD 21/kg, ingots and wafers below USD 100/kg, cells below USD 0.22/W or modules below USD 0.38/W.

Countries with U.S. trade deals, including Korea, face a combined cap of 15% covering Section 232 and most-favoured-nation duties.

The company sits closer to the beneficiary side of this policy map, and with Chinese polysilicon down to USD 4-5/kg, Washington set a floor well above that level, which is cited as support for price defence.

On competitive positioning, Hanwha Solutions' Qcells division completed U.S. vertical integration by adding cell production to its existing ingot, wafer and module lines, so onshore manufacturing and offshore-plus-export strategies now coexist.

Semiconductor grade differs: semiconductor polysilicon already trades above USD 21/kg, so the minimum import price is seen having limited direct impact there.

Outlook

The growth path management has laid out combines capacity additions with long-term contracts.

OCI Holdings said existing polysilicon capacity is effectively sold out after signing a long-term supply agreement with a new U.S. customer, and outlined plans to begin a 35,000-tonne expansion in the second half of 2026 to reach 70,000 tonnes by 2029, while lifting wafer capacity from 2.7GW this year to 7.5GW in 2028 and 11.5GW in 2029.

A corrective filing restated the expansion as KRW 1,430bn of investment to be executed by January 2029. Funding is to come from customer prepayments, internal cash and external borrowing, within limits that do not impair financial soundness.

The sales mix may also shift: the company said new U.S. customers prefer wafers over raw polysilicon, so it plans to expand a wafer-centred sales structure.

In semiconductor materials, the Malaysian semiconductor joint venture project secured investment from the International Finance Corporation for a total USD 125m in funding, with the 11-nines high-purity plant slated for completion and trial runs before commercial output of 8,000 tonnes a year from 2029.

On policy, the U.S. created an onshoring incentive exempting from Section 232 duties companies that commit to breaking ground on domestic polysilicon or derivative plants by January 20, 2029, and the Commerce Secretary may approve duty-free imports for individual firms in proportion to investment size and construction timelines, making those talks a key variable.

Management said on the second-quarter 2026 call that the third quarter is critical and that new sales and additional long-term contracts could accelerate once the Section 232 outcome was announced.

Valuation

PER

113.6×

PBR

1.0×

ROE

1.0%

EPS

₩2,003

BPS

₩219,636

Dividend per share

₩1,000

The shares currently trade at a level not far from reported book value, so on a net-asset basis neither a marked premium nor a marked discount stands out.

Earnings-based multiples, by contrast, sit far above the band seen when the company generated double-digit operating margins in 2022-2023, because owners' net profit over the last four quarters totalled only KRW 37.4bn.

In other words, today's multiple is calculated on a pre-normalisation profit base, so the multiple can shift quickly at an unchanged share price depending on whether quarterly profit holds near the second-quarter 2026 level.

On dividends, assuming the per-share payout is maintained, the yield screens below the market average, and the company has said it aims to return more than 50% of parent-basis net profit and to pursue an additional KRW 50bn of share buybacks and cancellations through 2029.

On target prices, Samsung Securities in its July 23, 2026 report raised its target by 13% from KRW 310,000 to KRW 350,000 on an improving non-China polysilicon supply-demand outlook in the U.S. and kept its top-pick stance within renewables.

Hana Securities said in an April 2026 report that with new end demand from solar, energy storage, space solar and semiconductors converging, polysilicon could be re-rated from a commodity into a high-value strategic material.

Given the holding-company structure, listed subsidiary stakes and unlisted operating value are blended, and analysts accordingly apply a sum-of-the-parts approach with peer multiples to reflect that business complexity.

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 2026-09-04

Bull factors

Existing capacity locked into long-term contracts

The company said its existing polysilicon capacity is effectively sold out after signing a long-term supply agreement with a new U.S. customer.

Kiwoom Securities said in a July 2026 report that contract-based demand will account for more than 70% of existing capacity from next year, and that including legacy customers volumes are effectively sold through 2028. A higher contracted share tends to smooth year-to-year utilization swings.

Contract pricing and delivery terms are undisclosed, however, so the actual margin contribution must be verified in quarterly results.

U.S. minimum import price regime

From December 4, 2026, polysilicon cannot be imported into the U.S. below USD 21/kg and ingots and wafers below USD 100/kg. With Chinese prices down to USD 4-5/kg, the company said the floor set above that level should support profitability.

Kyobo Securities said the measure applies an above-market floor to all origins rather than exempting non-China supply, allowing non-China chains to price up toward the minimum import price, and that the biggest policy uncertainty of the second half had been removed. The practical effect will still depend on customs implementation and the scope of exemptions.

Earnings spread beyond polysilicon

Second-quarter 2026 results cannot be explained by polysilicon alone. Analysts noted that while the Malaysian polysilicon unit posted a KRW 3.5bn operating loss, the U.S. solar project subsidiary supported results with KRW 60bn of operating profit from a 500MW project sale.

Listed subsidiary OCI also swung to a KRW 43.3bn operating profit in the quarter, with improving semiconductor materials driving the recovery. Project-sale gains, however, are lumpy and depend on transaction timing.

Bear factors

Absolute level of the profit recovery

Operating profit of KRW 108.1bn in the second quarter of 2026 contrasts with the KRW 80.3bn loss a year earlier, but against KRW 976.7bn in 2022 and KRW 531.2bn in 2023 the recovery is still in its early stage. Owners' net profit over the last four quarters totals only KRW 37.4bn.

The consensus operating profit forecast from eight brokerages compiled by Infomax was KRW 122.9bn, so the reported figure fell short of expectations. Earnings durability depends on whether polysilicon volumes and prices actually rise.

Soft volumes and demand waiting on policy

In the second quarter of 2026 polysilicon sales and profitability stayed weak as customers held back pending the U.S. Section 232 investigation. Samsung Securities said volumes rose 4% quarter on quarter but reached only 4,800 tonnes against a prior 5,400-tonne assumption, a somewhat soft outcome.

Mirae Asset Securities estimated that the delayed Section 232 announcement pushed back price increases while customers deferred purchases until the policy outcome was clear. Even after the policy is set, converting it into contracted volumes involves a time lag.

Large expansion and funding burden

After an earlier plan to add 21,600 tonnes with KRW 0.87trn of investment in 2024 went unexecuted, the company revised its plan via a corrective filing to invest KRW 1,430bn by January 2029 for 35,000 tonnes of new capacity.

At end-2025 liabilities stood at KRW 3,139.3bn against equity of KRW 4,731.5bn, a 66.3% debt-to-equity ratio. Funding is to combine customer prepayments, internal cash and external borrowing, but a larger borrowing share would raise financial burden. Given the earlier unexecuted plan, execution pace itself warrants monitoring.

Risk factors

Policy and regulation

The business is tightly linked to U.S. policy, so rule changes are an immediate variable. To obtain a Section 232 exemption, a company must commit to breaking ground on U.S. construction or expansion by January 20, 2029.

Solar developers and semiconductor buyers warned that restricting material imports could raise U.S. finished-goods prices, lifting both power-plant construction costs and consumer prices. If end demand cannot absorb higher prices, the policy benefit could be offset by weaker volumes.

Industry cycle and pricing

China's structural oversupply remains the source of downward price pressure. Slower-than-expected industry growth combined with U.S. restrictions on Chinese product created an oversupplied structure, with Chinese inventories reported around 500,000 tonnes.

Mirae Asset Securities said Chinese polysilicon capacity could shrink substantially by end-2026 depending on policy, but noted volatility is high because the policies are not finalised. The pace and depth of Chinese restructuring is an external variable beyond the company's control.

Execution and operations

Production stoppages and maintenance schedules have swung quarterly results significantly. In 2025, amid customer destocking, operations were halted from May to August before the solar polysilicon plant restarted in September.

In the first quarter of 2026, lower utilization from scheduled maintenance and inventory valuation losses again hit results. A multinational footprint across Malaysia, Vietnam and the U.S. also adds logistics, currency and local permitting variables to manage.

What to watch next

Late October 2026
Third-quarter 2026 results and the earnings call. The chairman called the third quarter critical and said new sales and additional long-term contracts could accelerate after the Section 232 outcome, so polysilicon volumes and the Malaysian unit's profit direction are the key items to check.
December 4, 2026
The Section 232 measure applies to entries from December 4, with minimum import prices fixed at USD 21/kg for polysilicon, USD 100/kg for ingots and wafers, USD 0.22/W for cells and USD 0.38/W for modules. Post-effective U.S. selling prices and customs volumes will be the first data on how the regime actually works.
During the fourth quarter of 2026
Time to check progress on the 35,000-tonne polysilicon expansion slated to begin in the second half of 2026 and the outcome of talks to place the entire new 35,000 tonnes under long-term supply agreements. Whether prepayment inflows and borrowing terms are disclosed alongside also matters for assessing financial burden.
Around February 2027
Confirmation of full-year 2026 results and the dividend and buyback policy. The company has stated it aims to return over 50% of parent-basis net profit and to add KRW 50bn of buybacks and cancellations through 2029, so how that policy is executed after the return to profit is what to verify.
End-2026 to first half of 2027
Progress on the semiconductor materials axis. The Gunsan plant has 4,700 tonnes of annual finished-product capacity, with post-processing equipment for 5,000 tonnes of joint-venture intermediate product due to be added at end-2026, and the Malaysian 11-nines plant is to enter commercial production of 8,000 tonnes a year from 2029 after completion and trial runs. Meeting these timelines is central to reducing reliance on solar.

Overall view

OCI Holdings' profit swung from a KRW 57.6bn full-year operating loss in 2025 to KRW 108.1bn of operating profit in the second quarter of 2026, a third consecutive quarter in the black, while revenue rose for five straight quarters to KRW 1,023.2bn.

Yet the absolute profit level remains early-stage versus KRW 976.7bn in 2022 and KRW 531.2bn in 2023, and owners' net profit over the last four quarters totals just KRW 37.4bn.

The bullish case rests on existing polysilicon capacity being effectively sold out under long-term agreements and on the U.S. minimum import price regime effective December 4 reshaping the pricing environment for non-China volumes.

The bearish case rests on still-weak polysilicon sales and profitability in the second quarter of 2026, the lumpiness of contributions such as project sales, and the burden of KRW 1,430bn of expansion investment through January 2029.

Financially, the debt-to-equity ratio stayed in the 60% range at 66.3% in 2025 and operating cash flow was an inflow of KRW 553.9bn.

Ultimately the point to watch is how quickly prices and volumes translate the policy shift into reported profit, with third-quarter results and the December implementation the first checkpoints. This report is for information purposes and contains no buy or sell opinion or target price.

Sources

Korea Exchange (KRX) — Prices · Market Cap · Volume
FSS electronic disclosure system (DART) — Financial statements · Dividend filings

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Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04

This content is AI analysis of market data and web search results, provided for information only. It is not a solicitation or recommendation to invest. Investment decisions and their consequences are the investor's own responsibility. Data may be delayed or contain errors.