DaelimPaper

Daelim Paper was founded in 1984 and listed on KOSDAQ in 1994 as a specialist producer of corrugated board raw paper, and is affiliated with the Sambo Panji Group.

Corrugated board raw paper is divided into corrugating medium, which forms the fluted core that absorbs shock, and linerboard, which finishes the outer and inner surfaces of the board, and Daelim Paper produces both categories.

Raw materials are mainly domestically collected waste paper, supplemented at times by imported waste paper depending on domestic supply conditions. Revenue is understood to be concentrated almost entirely in the corrugated board and raw paper segment.

Korea's corrugated board raw paper market is a competitive field of roughly fourteen companies with daily capacity above 300 tons, including Daelim Paper, Shindaeyang Paper, Daeyang Paper Industry, Asia Paper, Korea Export Packaging, Taerim Paper, Gyeongsan Paper and Hansol Papertech, while numerous smaller players operate with capacity below 200 tons per day.

Among testliner (recycled linerboard) producers, Daelim Paper is named alongside Shindaeyang Paper, Daeyang Paper Industry and Taerim Paper. End customers are converters that manufacture corrugated boxes and packaging, meaning ultimate demand is tied to delivery, logistics and consumer-goods packaging volumes.

The stock is classified under a miscellaneous category on KOSDAQ, and as a small-cap name its trading volume and liquidity tend to be limited.

Consolidated revenue in 2025 was KRW 168.84 billion, a slight increase from KRW 166.26 billion in 2024, but operating profit fell sharply to KRW 5.28 billion from KRW 9.83 billion in 2024, and net profit attributable to owners dropped by more than half to KRW 6.4 billion from KRW 13.23 billion in 2024.

The annual operating margin declined for four consecutive years, from 15.6% in 2022 to 13.3% in 2023, 5.9% in 2024 and 3.1% in 2025.

On a quarterly basis, operating profit fell from KRW 4.09 billion in Q2 2025 to KRW 0.91 billion in Q3, before swinging to an operating loss of KRW 3.53 billion in Q4 2025, which also pushed net profit into a loss of KRW 2.24 billion.

The company then returned to profit in Q1 2026 with operating profit of KRW 0.56 billion and net profit of KRW 0.87 billion, before rebounding sharply in Q2 2026 to operating profit of KRW 6.24 billion and net profit of KRW 6.08 billion, largely offsetting the Q4 2025 loss.

Net profit attributable to owners over the most recent four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026) totaled roughly KRW 6.05 billion.

On the balance sheet, the debt ratio eased gradually from 20.5% in 2022 to 18.9% in 2023, 15.8% in 2024 and 16.0% in 2025, while equity rose steadily from KRW 246.9 billion in 2022 to KRW 282.9 billion in 2025.

Operating cash flow remained solid relative to net profit at KRW 31.4 billion in 2022, KRW 29.5 billion in 2023, KRW 16.9 billion in 2024 and KRW 23.2 billion in 2025, reflecting the cash-generation characteristics typical of a capital-intensive paper business with heavy depreciation.

Korea's paper industry is passing through a structural transition in which digitalization is shrinking demand for newsprint and printing paper even as e-commerce and delivery logistics expand demand for corrugated board raw paper.

Domestic production of corrugated board raw paper is reported to have grown sharply, from 3.69 million tons in 2009 to 5.57 million tons in 2024, a trend attributed to the expansion of online shopping and delivery logistics.

By contrast, newsprint production plunged from 1.46 million tons in 2009 to just 0.37 million tons in 2024, and printing paper output also fell over the same period from 2.97 million tons to 2.26 million tons, highlighting a sharp divergence by paper category.

Even within the corrugated segment, performance varies widely by company depending on competitive intensity and cost conditions: Asia Paper and Shindaeyang Paper are reported to have maintained relatively stable trends tied to logistics demand, while Daelim Paper and Hanchang Paper saw profitability weaken or swing to losses in 2025.

Roughly fourteen corrugated raw paper producers with daily capacity above 300 tons, including Daelim Paper, compete in this market, and observers note that the large number of players can limit pricing power, with profitability volatility potentially rising if overseas supply expansion coincides with capacity competition.

Waste paper, the key raw material, is subject to price swings tied to domestic and international conditions and exchange rates, making cost management a critical differentiator of margins across producers.

Hygiene paper and other consumer-related categories also showed growth, while companies centered on paperboard and printing paper struggled amid weaker market conditions, illustrating how positioning by paper category shapes performance across the industry.

No specific revenue or profit guidance, nor any new capacity expansion plan, has been publicly disclosed by the company as of now.

However, given the return to profit in Q1 2026 and the sharp rebound in Q2 2026, a key point to watch in coming quarters is whether the Q4 2025 operating loss was a one-off event or a sign that structural margin pressure could recur.

On the industry side, the expansion of e-commerce and delivery logistics continues to underpin long-term demand for corrugated board raw paper, leaving year-end peak-season volumes as a major variable for pricing and utilization rates.

Waste paper prices and exchange-rate trends remain the central cost-side variables, and how these flow through to margins in the second half of 2026 will need to be confirmed.

The company has continued paying cash dividends annually, including a cash and in-kind dividend resolution disclosed on January 28, 2026, suggesting continuity in dividend policy.

With the debt ratio on a steadily declining trend, the balance sheet appears to retain capacity for maintenance capital spending or modest investment without relying heavily on external financing.

Positioning relative to competitors, particularly shifts in supply and demand for specific paper grades such as testliner and corrugating medium, is likely to remain a key indicator for the direction of future earnings.