PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩100 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
Samchuly Bicycle has recovered from a 2023 operating loss to a near double-digit operating margin in 2025 on the back of expanding e-bike sales, but governance uncertainty from the owner's breach-of-trust case and a past listing eligibility review remains an outstanding variable.
2025 consolidated operating profit rose sharply to KRW 12.4bn (7.1% margin), continuing the recovery from a 2023 operating loss.
Chairman Kim Suk-hwan's approximately KRW 1.3bn breach-of-trust case triggered a roughly three-month trading halt from January 2026, with trading resuming in April after a listing-maintenance decision.
On August 27, 2026, a first-instance court partially convicted the chairman of breach of trust and handed down a one-year suspended sentence, with the company disclosing full recovery of the misappropriated amount.
From August 18 to September 10, the company is conducting a large tender-offer buyback covering 19.42% of shares outstanding, to be fully retired.
Quarterly results still show wide swings, with profit improving in the peak second-to-third quarter season and a recurring seasonal loss in the fourth quarter.
Samchuly Bicycle's core business is the domestic manufacturing and distribution of complete bicycles, and it is a leading Korean bicycle company with a full-category lineup spanning everyday and commuter bikes, sport cycling, e-bikes, personal mobility, and infant products.
Its main brands include the everyday Samchuly Bicycle line, the sport cycling brand Apalanchia, the e-bike brand Phantom and the folding e-bike line Polaris, and the value-priced line Respo.
In 2026 the company unveiled more than 100 new products spanning infant items to personal mobility, segmenting its lineup with character-licensed children's products and ultra-compact, city-type e-bikes.
It has recently also launched the Deft series of electric kickboards, expanding from a bicycle maker into a broader personal-mobility company.
On the governance side, founder-chairman Kim Suk-hwan holds a 72.6% stake in holding company GL&Co, which in turn holds Samchuly Bicycle, which in turn has travel company Chamjoeun Travel as an affiliate, forming a vertical control structure.
Chamjoeun Travel has been improving its recent results through distribution cost cuts, selection of local partner agencies, and new tour course development, and because non-controlling interests make up a large share of consolidated equity, there is a meaningful gap between consolidated net income and income attributable to controlling shareholders.
Its main competitor is Alton Sports, and both companies are shifting weight toward e-bikes and electric kickboards to counter stagnation in the broader bicycle market driven by low birth rates and air-quality concerns.
Distribution runs through a nationwide dealer network alongside the company's own online store, with after-sales service infrastructure cited as a core pillar of brand trust.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩49B | ₩6.1B | 12.5% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩40.7B | ₩6.9B | 17.0% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩38.5B | -₩1.9B | −4.9% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩42.5B | ₩2.3B | 5.3% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩49.9B | ₩3.3B | 6.6% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩116.2B | ₩1.1B | -₩5B | 1.0% | −5.4% | 52.7% |
| 2023 | ₩106.8B | -₩6.3B | ₩5.1B | −5.9% | 5.5% | 72.4% |
| 2024 | ₩161.2B | ₩3B | -₩99,101,316 | 1.9% | −0.1% | 76.2% |
| 2025 | ₩175.6B | ₩12.4B | ₩5.9B | 7.1% | 6.0% | 72.9% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-08-23
Consolidated revenue fell from KRW 116.2bn in 2022 to KRW 106.8bn in 2023, then rose for two straight years to KRW 161.2bn in 2024 and KRW 175.6bn in 2025.
Operating profit swung from a KRW 1.14bn profit in 2022 to a KRW 6.29bn loss in 2023, then expanded rapidly after turning positive again to KRW 3.01bn in 2024 and KRW 12.43bn in 2025, lifting the 2025 operating margin to 7.1%.
Net income attributable to controlling shareholders has fluctuated—KRW -5.04bn in 2022, KRW 5.10bn in 2023, KRW -0.10bn in 2024, and KRW 5.87bn in 2025—without yet settling into a fully stable trend.
By quarter, profit improvement continued through the third quarter of 2025 (revenue KRW 40.7bn, operating profit KRW 6.91bn, controlling net income KRW 3.07bn), but the fourth quarter saw revenue slip to KRW 38.5bn with an operating loss of KRW 1.90bn and a controlling net loss of KRW 2.43bn, reflecting a clear seasonal off-peak burden.
The first quarter of 2026 returned to profit with revenue of KRW 42.5bn, operating profit of KRW 2.26bn, and controlling net income of KRW 2.31bn, while the second quarter saw revenue rise to KRW 49.9bn with operating profit of KRW 3.28bn and controlling net income of KRW 2.72bn.
Summed over the trailing four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026), revenue totals roughly KRW 171.6bn and operating profit roughly KRW 10.6bn, with the quarterly operating margin swinging widely from 17.0% in Q3 2025 to -4.9% in Q4, then 5.3% in Q1 2026 and 6.6% in Q2.
The debt ratio rose from 52.7% in 2022 to 76.2% in 2024 before easing slightly to 72.9% in 2025, while operating cash flow improved from KRW -2.56bn in 2023 to KRW 14.48bn in 2024 and KRW 31.99bn in 2025, underpinning the company's cash-generation capacity.
Company statements and media reports attribute the improvement to strong sales of the sport cycling brand Apalanchia and expanding e-bike sales, with Apalanchia sales reportedly up 47% year over year in 2025.
Korea's bicycle market is stagnant due to structural factors such as low birth rates and air-quality concerns, but e-bikes are showing relatively strong growth, driven by high fuel prices, an aging population, and rising short-distance mobility demand.
In particular, in the first half of 2026, sustained high fuel prices together with policy support such as fuel-cost relief subsidies boosted demand for e-bikes as substitutes for cars and public transit, according to the company.
As consumer experience with e-bikes accumulates, buyers increasingly prioritize safety, after-sales support, and long-term durability, a trend that is said to favor branded products backed by nationwide distribution and service networks.
Competitor Alton Sports is pursuing a parallel low-price strategy, targeting mass demand with compact, affordable e-bikes, and both companies are expanding into personal mobility products such as electric kickboards.
In Korea's complete-bicycle market, Samchuly Bicycle is viewed as maintaining a leading position on the strength of long-standing brand equity and a nationwide after-sales network.
However, the business has meaningful import exposure for raw materials and finished products, so currency fluctuations directly affect cost structure and margins, and the company itself recently cited currency stabilization as a basis for expected third-quarter profitability improvement.
The company stated that it expects third-quarter 2026 profitability to improve as sales of key products continue and currency conditions stabilize.
In 2026 it unveiled more than 100 new products spanning infant items to personal mobility, expanding the folding e-bike line Polaris into 16-inch and 20-inch wheel sizes across four sub-models to reinforce its highest-demand product category.
It launched the ultra-compact e-bike "12 Phantom Compact" and the low-step city model "20 Phantom Vrona" to target urban mobility demand, and added new colorways and mountain-certified frames to the sport brand Apalanchia.
On shareholder returns, from August 18 to September 10, 2026, the company is conducting a tender offer for 2,408,000 common shares—19.42% of total shares outstanding—to be fully retired, which upon completion would reduce total shares outstanding from 12.4 million to about 9.99 million.
On governance, the board was reshuffled with the addition of an outside director with accounting and audit expertise, though whether the company will adopt minority shareholders' proposals—such as writing a disqualification clause for indicted executives into the corporate charter—remains undecided.
The criminal case against chairman Kim Suk-hwan over the breach-of-trust allegation resulted in a first-instance ruling on August 27, 2026 of a one-year prison term suspended for two years, and the company disclosed that the misappropriated amount has been fully recovered.
The current share price appears to trade at a price-to-book multiple below book value, which is interpreted as partly reflecting the recurring owner-related risk and earnings volatility of recent years.
On the earnings side, a clear recovery is evident from the 2023 operating loss to a near double-digit operating margin in 2025, but the recurring fourth-quarter seasonal loss and resulting quarter-to-quarter variance should be weighed alongside any valuation read.
The dividend yield is understood to run below the industry average, and the company appears to place relatively more weight on share buybacks and retirements than on cash dividends as its shareholder-return tool.
Total shares outstanding are shrinking through capital reduction and tender-offer retirements, so the outstanding share count that underlies per-share metrics is itself in flux going forward.
Whether the uncertainty that previously triggered the trading halt has been meaningfully resolved remains a question that will depend on how the ongoing judicial process and governance-improvement commitments play out.
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
Expanding sales of the e-bike brand Phantom and the folding line Polaris drove the operating-profit turnaround and expansion in 2024-2025. In the first quarter of 2026 consolidated operating profit rose 73% year over year while e-bike revenue grew 45%.
A structure has emerged in which a rising share of higher-priced e-bikes translates directly into improved profitability.
The company reduced shares outstanding through a capital-reduction share retirement in April 2026, followed by an August-September tender offer and full retirement covering 19.42% of shares outstanding, alongside a year-end cash dividend—concrete shareholder-value measures executed during the profit-recovery phase.
Funding the tender offer entirely from cash on hand without external borrowing also limits added financial burden.
In 2026 the company unveiled over 100 new products spanning infant items to personal mobility, broadening into character-licensed products, ultra-compact and city-type e-bikes, and electric kickboards.
The sport cycling brand Apalanchia posted strong revenue growth in 2025, demonstrating the growth potential of the premium line. A full-category lineup is cited as a factor widening consumer choice even during a bicycle-market downturn.
Chairman Kim Suk-hwan was indicted on a breach-of-trust charge in January 2026, triggering roughly a three-month trading halt, and in August a first-instance court partially convicted him, imposing a suspended prison sentence.
Minority shareholders have called for writing a disqualification clause for indicted executives into the corporate charter, but the company has not yet stated a clear position. With the criminal process not fully concluded, governance uncertainty remains a variable for the time being.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, revenue fell to KRW 38.5bn and the company posted an operating loss of KRW 1.90bn, reflecting a clear off-season burden. Quarterly operating margin has swung from 17.0% to -4.9%, indicating a highly seasonal profit structure.
Annual net income attributable to controlling shareholders has also alternated between losses and profits from 2022 through 2025, without yet settling into a fully stable trend.
The Korean bicycle market faces structural stagnation from low birth rates and air-quality concerns, and price competition has intensified further as rival Alton Sports pursues a low-price strategy.
Because raw materials and finished products carry meaningful import exposure, currency movements directly affect costs and margins, and the company itself cited currency stabilization as a condition for future profitability improvement—implying that an adverse currency swing could pressure margins again.
While a first-instance ruling has been issued in the owner's breach-of-trust case, subsequent procedures such as an appeal may follow, and the possibility of a renewed listing-eligibility review trigger cannot be ruled out.
The outcome of discussions with minority shareholders over governance-improvement demands also remains uncertain.
A recurring pattern of fourth-quarter seasonal losses has been observed, and quarterly operating margins vary widely. If peak-season sales fall short of expectations, the annual earnings-improvement trend could reverse again.
As a small-cap KOSDAQ stock, liquidity and trading volume may be limited, and there is a risk that structural factors such as low birth rates could prolong stagnation in the bicycle market. Intensifying price competition with rivals could also weigh on margins.
Check the closing of the tender-offer buyback and subsequent retirement process; completion would structurally reduce shares outstanding.
Monitor autumn peak-season sales and inventory drawdown trends to gauge whether the fourth-quarter seasonal loss pattern repeats again.
Around the statutory filing deadline for the third-quarter report, check whether the profitability improvement the company attributed to currency stabilization is confirmed in actual figures.
Watch for disclosures on whether an appeal is filed in the owner's breach-of-trust case and the resulting trial schedule, to assess whether governance risk persists.
This will be the point to check whether governance-improvement proposals sought by minority shareholders, such as a charter clause disqualifying indicted executives, are actually adopted.
Samchuly Bicycle has built a recovery trajectory from a 2023 operating loss to a near double-digit operating margin in 2025, powered by expanding sales of its e-bike and sport cycling brands, and it sustained profitability through the first two quarters of 2026.
At the same time, governance risk—stemming from the owner's breach-of-trust case, a roughly three-month trading halt and listing-eligibility review, and an August 2026 first-instance conviction—has unfolded alongside this earnings recovery.
The company has pursued multiple avenues of shareholder returns, including a capital-reduction share retirement, a year-end cash dividend, and a large tender-offer buyback and retirement, signaling an effort to rebuild trust, but whether it will adopt minority shareholders' charter-amendment demands and how any appeal proceeds remain undecided.
Quarterly results show clear volatility, with peak-season profit improvement alternating with a recurring fourth-quarter seasonal loss, so seasonal factors need to be weighed when gauging the annual earnings trajectory.
On the industry side, e-bikes and personal mobility act as a relative growth driver even within a structurally stagnant bicycle market, and currency stabilization is flagged as a variable that could affect near-term margins.
Overall, this is a phase where business-level recovery and governance uncertainty coexist, warranting continued attention to both the judicial process and the seasonal earnings pattern going forward.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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