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
A steel holding company with the sole domestic mild-steel wire rod production system is pursuing a Philippine nickel mine project while under a delisting improvement period following a disclaimer audit opinion for fiscal 2025.
2025 revenue rose 44.7% year over year to KRW 41.06 billion, but the operating loss of KRW 8.48 billion marked a fourth straight year of losses.
Net income attributable to owners turned positive at KRW 0.46 billion in Q2 2026 after several loss-making quarters, though operating income remained negative.
The FY2025 audit report resulted in a disclaimer opinion, triggering a delisting cause, and the company was granted a one-year improvement period after filing an objection.
A Philippine subsidiary obtained the key Mining ECC environmental approval for the Dinagat nickel mine project in June 2026.
Liquidity pressure persists given a KRW 40 billion fourth-round convertible bond and limited cash holdings.
Jsco Holdings was founded in 1964 as Jeil Steel Industries and listed on KOSDAQ in 1994, later converting into a holding company structure for its steel materials business.
Its core operation purchases slabs and billets, then processes them through hot rolling and extrusion to produce and sell mild steel wire rod, BIC (coil rebar), and deformed rebar.
Notably, the company maintains the only domestic production system in the mild steel wire rod segment, which limits direct price competition pressure.
On the other hand, the structure makes it difficult to fully pass raw material price swings in slabs and billets through to final product prices, constraining profitability. In 2025 the company established a new subsidiary, Jsco AI Works, in an attempt to expand its business portfolio.
To secure new growth drivers, it set up the Philippine local subsidiary JSCO PH Corp in February 2023 and entered the Dinagat nickel mine development project.
JSCO PH invests project development funds and holds exclusive sales rights to nickel ore produced from roughly 2,700 hectares of mining area, which the company describes as building an integrated structure from mining to sales.
In June 2026, the subsidiary obtained the Mining ECC, a key environmental approval from the Philippine environmental agency, signaling entry into the commercialization stage.
However, this overseas new business has become entangled in asset-existence controversies during the audit process, emerging as a risk factor separate from the core steel business.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩10.7B | -₩3B | −28.4% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩10.4B | -₩1.9B | −18.2% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩12.1B | -₩900M | −7.6% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩15B | -₩1.8B | −12.1% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩11.5B | -₩700M | −6.5% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩84.1B | -₩6.2B | -₩27.2B | −7.4% | −43.0% | 116.2% |
| 2023 | ₩55.3B | -₩8.4B | -₩24.4B | −15.1% | −39.0% | 103.8% |
| 2024 | ₩28.4B | -₩14.7B | -₩26.7B | −51.8% | −54.8% | 115.9% |
| 2025 | ₩41.1B | -₩8.5B | -₩32B | −20.6% | −58.6% | 111.6% |
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 2025 revenue reached KRW 41.06 billion, up 44.7% from KRW 28.37 billion in 2024, but the operating loss of KRW 8.48 billion marked a fourth consecutive year of losses.
Net loss attributable to owners widened to KRW 32.01 billion from KRW 26.72 billion in 2024, meaning revenue recovery did not translate into improved bottom-line results.
Looking further back, revenue fell sharply from KRW 84.14 billion in 2022 to KRW 55.35 billion in 2023 and KRW 28.37 billion in 2024, before rebounding in 2025, showing significant volatility.
Operating income was negative in all four years, moving from -KRW 6.19 billion (2022) to -KRW 8.36 billion (2023), -KRW 14.69 billion (2024), and -KRW 8.48 billion (2025) without a clear improving trend.
On a quarterly basis, the operating loss generally narrowed from KRW 3.04 billion in Q2 2025 to KRW 1.90 billion in Q3 2025, KRW 0.92 billion in Q4 2025, KRW 1.82 billion in Q1 2026, and KRW 0.75 billion in Q2 2026.
On the net income side, the owners' net loss peaked at KRW 15.22 billion in Q4 2025, the largest quarterly loss, before narrowing to KRW 4.93 billion in Q1 2026 and turning positive at KRW 0.46 billion in Q2 2026.
However, since Q2 2026 still posted an operating loss of KRW 0.75 billion despite the positive net income, a one-off non-operating item may have been involved, warranting further confirmation once disclosed.
On the cash flow side, operating cash flow swung from an inflow of KRW 13.47 billion in 2022 to outflows of KRW 6.41 billion (2023), KRW 6.81 billion (2024), and KRW 11.46 billion (2025) for three straight years, indicating weakened cash generation from operations, while total equity declined from KRW 63.17 billion in 2022 to KRW 54.84 billion in 2025 as the debt ratio fluctuated between roughly 104% and 116%, reflecting persistently high leverage.
The domestic wire rod and rebar market is closely linked to the construction cycle, with fluctuations in raw material prices for slabs and billets directly affecting spreads.
The company's status as the sole domestic producer of mild steel wire rod allows it to capture import-substitution demand, but the overall market size limits potential for volume expansion.
If construction investment slows or raw material prices swing sharply, profitability can be easily impaired given the difficulty of fully passing costs through to selling prices.
Nickel, meanwhile, is classified as a key raw material for battery cathode materials, with downstream demand driven by growth in the electric vehicle and battery industries, and such projects are typically capital-intensive, taking years from development to commercialization.
The company noted that securing the key environmental approval took about three years, compared with the more than seven years typically required for overseas mining projects.
However, the nickel business has yet to generate significant actual revenue, and since the auditor noted it could not obtain sufficient audit evidence for related loans and intangible assets, more time is needed to verify the company's industry position through actual sales performance.
Across the broader KOSDAQ market, a growing number of companies faced delisting causes in 2026 due to inadequate audit opinions, reflecting mounting pressure to clear out distressed firms, a trend within which the company is situated.
The company received a disclaimer audit opinion for its FY2025 financial statements, citing going-concern uncertainty and scope limitations, which triggered a delisting cause; it filed an objection with the Korea Exchange on April 9, 2026, and was granted a one-year improvement period.
At the time, the trading suspension was also extended until the delisting decision date, with reports suggesting trading restrictions could last at least a year.
The core reason for the disclaimer was that the auditor could not obtain sufficient audit evidence for approximately KRW 30.76 billion in loans extended to the Philippine subsidiary and mining-related intangible assets.
The company stated its plan to complete Philippine permitting and demonstrate actual revenue through nickel supply to a Chinese buyer during the improvement period, in order to regain a clean audit opinion.
Indeed, in June 2026 the company obtained the Mining ECC approval for the Dinagat nickel mine project from the Philippine environmental agency, which it described as partially fulfilling commercialization requirements.
On the liquidity side, however, a KRW 40 billion fourth-round convertible bond carrying an 8.5% maturity coupon remains outstanding, while cash on hand was reported at only about KRW 9.7 billion, leaving the task of stabilizing the financial structure within the improvement period.
The trading suspension has also blocked the circular funding structure the company previously relied on through CB issuance and resale, which is cited as a reason it must diversify future funding channels.
The current share price appears to trade at a discount to net asset value, which can be interpreted as reflecting concerns over the delisting review triggered by the disclaimer audit opinion and liquidity issues.
Because the company has posted operating and net losses for four consecutive years, earnings-based valuation metrics remain in a range that is difficult to calculate on a stable basis. As there have been no dividend payments in recent years, there is limited basis for comparing dividend-related metrics.
However, the return to positive net income attributable to owners in Q2 2026 is a factor that could open the possibility of calculating earnings-based metrics going forward.
Above all, given ongoing reports of the improvement period and trading suspension tied to the disclaimer opinion, these listing-eligibility issues should be weighed alongside any price signal formed in the market.
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 company maintains the only domestic production system in the mild steel wire rod segment, limiting direct price competition pressure. It also maintains its customer base through import-substitution effects and product differentiation, according to company disclosures. This monopolistic position supports a stable revenue base even though the overall market is not large.
Over the past five quarters, the operating loss narrowed from KRW 3.04 billion in Q2 2025 to KRW 0.75 billion in Q2 2026. Net income attributable to owners also turned positive at KRW 0.46 billion in Q2 2026 for the first time in several quarters.
However, since this may have stemmed from a non-operating factor, its sustainability requires further confirmation.
In June 2026, Philippine subsidiary JSCO PH obtained the Mining ECC, the key environmental approval for the Dinagat nickel mine project, signaling entry into the commercialization stage.
The company emphasized that securing the approval took about three years, compared with the more than seven years typically required for overseas mining projects. Whether this translates into actual ore sales going forward is the key point to watch.
The FY2025 audit report resulted in a disclaimer opinion citing going-concern uncertainty and scope limitations, triggering a delisting cause. The auditor stated it could not obtain sufficient audit evidence for approximately KRW 30.76 billion in loans to the Philippine subsidiary and mining-related intangible assets.
The company was granted a one-year improvement period after filing an objection, but failure to resolve the issues within that period could lead to delisting.
A KRW 40 billion fourth-round convertible bond carrying an 8.5% maturity coupon remains outstanding, while cash on hand was reported at only about KRW 9.7 billion.
The trading suspension has blocked the circular funding structure the company previously relied on through CB issuance and resale, reportedly narrowing its ability to respond. Short-term liquidity indicators also appear weak, with current liabilities exceeding current assets by about KRW 37.1 billion.
Operating income remained negative for four consecutive years from 2022 to 2025, and net losses attributable to owners also exceeded KRW 20 billion annually. Revenue also swung sharply, plunging from KRW 84.1 billion in 2022 to KRW 28.4 billion in 2024 before rebounding in 2025, making earnings difficult to predict.
Operating cash flow also recorded outflows for three straight years from 2023 to 2025, indicating weakened cash generation from operations.
The delisting cause arising from the disclaimer audit opinion and the outcome of the improvement period review are the biggest variables. Failure to verify the existence of Philippine assets and generate actual revenue within the improvement period could result in delisting. Prolonged trading suspension during this process cannot be ruled out.
A KRW 40 billion convertible bond and low cash holdings limit the company's ability to respond to short-term repayment or put-option demands. With the trading suspension blocking normal funding channels, there are calls for urgent additional self-rescue measures.
The nickel mine project has made progress on permitting, but the challenges of generating actual revenue and verifying asset existence remain. The timing of when the supply agreement with the Chinese buyer will translate into actual volumes and payments remains uncertain.
Around the Q3 2026 report filing deadline, it will be important to check revenue and operating income trends and whether the trading suspension continues.
It will be necessary to monitor whether the KRW 40 billion fourth-round convertible bond (8.5% maturity coupon) faces repayment or a put-option exercise, and how the company responds on liquidity.
Around the expiry of the one-year improvement period granted in April 2026, the Korea Exchange's listing committee is expected to issue a delisting decision, which should be monitored.
Since actual nickel ore supply and revenue recognition from the Dinagat mine to the Chinese buyer is a key condition for restoring a clean audit opinion, related disclosures should be continuously monitored.
Jsco Holdings is a steel materials company with the sole domestic mild steel wire rod production system, operating as a holding company while also pursuing a new nickel mine development business in the Philippines. 2025 revenue grew 44.7% year over year, but operating and net losses continued for a fourth consecutive year, with the Q4 2025 owners' net loss widening to KRW 15.22 billion, the largest quarterly loss on record.
Losses then narrowed in Q1 and Q2 2026, with net income turning positive in Q2, though operating income remained negative, meaning the sustainability of this improvement requires further confirmation.
The biggest variable is the disclaimer opinion received on the FY2025 audit report; failure to verify the existence of loans to the Philippine subsidiary and mining intangible assets could lead to delisting after the improvement period expires.
At the same time, liquidity pressure persists from a KRW 40 billion convertible bond and limited cash holdings, making it critical to watch whether progress on nickel business permitting, such as the Mining ECC approval, translates into actual revenue and verified asset existence.
Investors should sequentially monitor confirmable events including the restoration of a clean audit opinion, the outcome of the improvement period review, the company's response to the convertible bond, and actual nickel ore supply.
This report is for informational purposes only and does not include a buy or sell recommendation or a target price.
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.