PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q2–2026Q1) · Dividend yield is based on ₩0 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
Following Samsung SDI's equity investment, Fino's transformation into a battery materials company faces a test on both earnings and ownership fronts.
Consolidated 2025 revenue jumped sharply to KRW 264.8 billion from KRW 30.7 billion in 2024, but net income attributable to owners posted a loss for the fourth consecutive year.
Net income attributable to owners turned positive at KRW 8.87 billion in Q1 2026, and the trailing four-quarter sum also swung to a profit.
In March 2026, Samsung SDI agreed to acquire roughly 7% of Fino through a third-party share placement, making US ESS supply-chain de-risking from China a key variable.
The largest shareholder remains China's CNGR-affiliated Zoomwe Hong Kong New Energy Technology, leaving US Prohibited Foreign Entity rules as an unresolved business risk.
Domestic production buildout via the POSCO Future M–CNGR joint venture C&P Sinsojae and planned 2026 entry into recycling are key variables for future profitability.
Fino was established in 1990 for instrument manufacturing and long operated a telecom equipment business making mobile repeaters, listing on KOSDAQ in 2001.
It later changed its name to Skymoons Technology and expanded into mobile game publishing through subsidiary Skymoons e-Games, though this remained a minor revenue contributor.
In 2024, Zoomwe Hong Kong New Energy Technology, an affiliate of China's largest precursor producer CNGR, became the largest shareholder through a third-party share placement, completely reshaping the company's identity, and the firm was renamed 'FINO' in August that year.
Its core business today is the sourcing, processing, and sale of NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) and LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) precursors and copper materials used in cathode production for secondary batteries.
The business model is largely trading-based: upon customer orders, Fino sources nickel raw material from overseas mines including Indonesia, has it processed by CNGR (Zoomwe) on a tolling basis, and delivers finished precursor to end customers, with L&F as its main customer under a series of large quarterly NCM precursor supply contracts starting in 2025.
It has also signed sizable copper supply contracts with Hong Kong's CITIC Metal and Lotte EM Malaysia.
Through a 29% stake in C&P Sinsojae Technology, a joint venture between POSCO Future M and CNGR, Fino is participating in building domestic production capacity, aiming to shift away from a pure trading structure toward capturing manufacturing margin. The legacy telecom equipment business (repeaters, Wi-Fi APs) continues to shrink as a share of overall revenue.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q1 | ₩55.4B | ₩53,427,582 | 0.1% |
| 2025Q2 | ₩46.8B | ₩600M | 1.3% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩75.6B | ₩1.2B | 1.7% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩87B | ₩6.9B | 8.0% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩109.1B | ₩9.5B | 8.7% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩11.4B | ₩1.5B | ₩1.7B | 12.8% | 7.3% | 7.5% |
| 2023 | ₩7B | -₩2.1B | -₩1.9B | −30.5% | −9.0% | 11.3% |
| 2024 | ₩30.7B | ₩7,608,133 | -₩2.5B | 0.0% | −4.4% | 107.4% |
| 2025 | ₩264.8B | ₩8.8B | -₩5.9B | 3.3% | −6.0% | 66.5% |
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
Consolidated revenue shrank to KRW 11.4 billion in 2022 and KRW 7.0 billion in 2023 before surging to KRW 30.7 billion in 2024 and KRW 264.8 billion in 2025.
Operating profit swung from a KRW 1.5 billion profit in 2022 (12.8% margin) to a KRW 2.1 billion loss in 2023 (-30.5%), then a marginal profit in 2024 (0.0%) before expanding to KRW 8.8 billion in 2025 (3.3%).
Net income attributable to owners, however, has been negative for four straight years since a KRW 1.7 billion profit in 2022, posting -KRW 1.9 billion in 2023, -KRW 2.5 billion in 2024, and -KRW 5.9 billion in 2025, with the loss widening.
On a quarterly basis, Q1 2025 posted revenue of KRW 55.4 billion, operating profit of KRW 0.5 billion and a net loss of KRW 2.2 billion; Q2 revenue of KRW 46.8 billion, operating profit of KRW 0.6 billion and a net loss of KRW 1.5 billion; Q3 revenue of KRW 75.6 billion, operating profit of KRW 1.2 billion and a net profit of KRW 0.2 billion; and Q4 revenue of KRW 87.0 billion, operating profit of KRW 6.9 billion and a net loss of KRW 2.4 billion, showing steady operating profit improvement even as net income fluctuated.
In Q1 2026, revenue reached KRW 109.1 billion, operating profit KRW 9.5 billion (roughly an 8.7% margin), and net income attributable to owners KRW 8.9 billion, marking a clear quarterly swing to profit.
As a result, the trailing four-quarter sum of net income attributable to owners for Q2 2025 through Q1 2026 turned positive at roughly KRW 5.2 billion.
The company has previously attributed past annual net losses to non-cash accounting factors including derivative valuation losses and convertible bond interest expense, which is worth considering when reconciling operating results with net income.
Shareholders' equity expanded from KRW 21.5 billion in 2023 to KRW 56.1 billion in 2024 and KRW 98.3 billion in 2025, reflecting a series of capital raises. The debt ratio eased from 107.4% in 2024 to 66.5% in 2025, while operating cash flow remained negative across all four years, at -KRW 11.1 billion in 2025.
Precursor is a compound formed by dissolving metals such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese in water and precipitating them, and it constitutes roughly 70% of cathode material composition.
The global precursor market is assessed as entering a growth phase driven by EV and energy storage system (ESS) expansion, with one independent research report from December 2025 forecasting a 25.6% compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2033, reaching roughly $79.1 billion.
In South Korea, there is effectively no domestic producer capable of mass-producing LFP precursor, creating a structure where cathode makers such as L&F source the material through Fino.
Fino's largest shareholder, CNGR, is assessed as holding roughly 25% of the global precursor market as the leading player, and Fino has built its raw material sourcing and tolling arrangement on this network.
However, as the US government's One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) progressively restricts the share of Prohibited Foreign Entity (PFE)-produced materials allowed in ESS batteries, industry observers have raised concerns that Fino's China-dominated ownership structure itself could become an obstacle to supply-chain certification.
This regulatory environment paradoxically creates an incentive for domestic battery cell makers such as Samsung SDI to invest directly in the domestic precursor supply chain to meet de-China sourcing requirements.
Competitively, Fino remains in an early, trading-centric stage of its business, and the key point to watch is its transition toward capturing manufacturing margin relative to peers with established domestic production capacity.
In March 2026, Fino's board approved a third-party share placement issuing 14,294,467 new shares, of which Samsung SDI agreed to take roughly 40%, or 6,126,200 shares, at KRW 4,897 per share for an investment of about KRW 30 billion.
Samsung SDI subsequently filed an April disclosure reporting new ownership of 6,126,200 Fino shares, a 7.44% stake.
In a media interview, the company's CEO described the business restructuring in three stages, saying the company is currently finishing stage one, building supply chain and production infrastructure, with stage two focused on verifying quality and cost competitiveness through mass production and customer supply, and stage three targeting vertical integration from mining and refining through recycling.
The POSCO Future M–CNGR joint venture C&P Sinsojae is reported to be sequentially building NCM precursor capacity totaling 110,000 tons—36,000 tons in phase one and 74,000 tons in phase two—alongside LFP cathode production lines.
The company has also stated it plans to enter the recycling business in stages starting in 2026, aiming to build a circular value chain spanning raw material sourcing, precursor manufacturing, and recycling.
Whether the Samsung SDI stake acquisition is completed through payment procedures and translates into a meaningful change in shareholder composition, and whether self-owned production facilities come online as planned to move the business away from a trading-centric structure, are the key points to monitor for future earnings and business transformation.
The current share price trades at a level that embeds a substantial premium over net asset value, suggesting that the market has priced in a meaningful portion of expectations around the company's transformation story from a telecom and gaming firm into a battery materials company.
On earnings, while the company posted net losses on an annual basis for four consecutive years, the swing to a quarterly net profit in Q1 2026 and to a positive trailing four-quarter sum can be read as a departure from the chronic loss pattern seen previously.
Whether this earnings recovery stems from underlying operating profit improvement or from a reversal of non-operating accounting items warrants a quarter-by-quarter distinction.
There has been no recent dividend payment, consistent with a structure where capital is directed toward business growth and capital raises (a series of share placements) rather than shareholder returns via dividends.
When considering valuation levels, the pace at which the business shifts from a trading-centric structure to a manufacturing-margin structure, and whether Samsung SDI's equity participation ultimately translates into a change of controlling shareholder, appear to be factors that could weigh more heavily on how the market assesses the company than the absolute multiple itself.
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
Samsung SDI's plan to acquire roughly a 7% stake in Fino through a March 2026 share placement created a link with Korea's largest battery cell maker.
This stemmed from the need to internalize the supply chain for US ESS market entry, and if it eventually leads to a change in controlling shareholder, it could positively affect the company's credibility and customer diversification. Samsung SDI filed an April disclosure newly reporting a 7.44% stake.
Consolidated 2025 revenue reached KRW 264.8 billion, sharply up from KRW 30.7 billion the prior year, while operating profit expanded to KRW 8.8 billion for a 3.3% margin. In Q1 2026, revenue reached KRW 109.1 billion and operating profit KRW 9.5 billion, continuing the quarterly growth trend. Repeated large-scale NCM precursor supply contracts with L&F underpin the revenue base.
Through the POSCO Future M–CNGR joint venture C&P Sinsojae, the company is building NCM precursor capacity totaling 110,000 tons in stages, while also pursuing LFP cathode production lines.
Starting in 2026, it plans to enter the recycling business as well, aiming to complete a circular value chain from raw material sourcing to recycling. If this shift to self-owned production succeeds, it could move the company beyond its current trading-centric structure to capture manufacturing margin.
Net income attributable to owners posted losses for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025, with the loss widening over that period.
While Q1 2026 saw a swing to profit, given that a significant portion of past losses stemmed from non-cash items such as derivative valuation losses and convertible bond interest expense, the sustainability of future net income needs to be reconfirmed quarter by quarter. It is also worth noting that the pace of operating profit improvement and net income improvement has diverged.
Operating cash flow was negative in three of the four years from 2022 to 2025, widening to -KRW 11.1 billion in 2025.
Advance purchases of raw materials alongside inventory and receivables burdens tied to revenue growth appear to constrain cash generation, and under this structure, repeated external financing such as share placements could recur.
Separate from Samsung SDI's equity investment, the current largest shareholder remains China's CNGR-affiliated Zoomwe Hong Kong New Energy Technology, with CNGR itself also holding a stake.
Industry observers have raised the possibility that Fino, given its high China-affiliated ownership, could fall under the scope of the US Prohibited Foreign Entity rules once they are finalized, meaning that unless Samsung SDI's stake acquisition leads to a substantive change in governance, constraints on US market access could persist.
If the US government's proposed restrictions on Prohibited Foreign Entity material content are finalized, Fino, given its high China-affiliated ownership, could be classified as a restricted material supplier. This is a variable that could directly affect the procurement decisions of customers targeting the US market.
Whether and when the Samsung SDI stake acquisition is completed will likely be the benchmark for assessing whether this risk is substantively resolved.
The current business is largely a trading-centric structure based on tolling arrangements, and if self-owned production facilities via C&P Sinsojae do not come online as planned, the core premise of the growth story—capturing manufacturing margin—could be delayed.
New initiatives such as the recycling business are also still at an early stage, and investment scale and timing could change during execution.
As operating cash flow has remained negative alongside revenue growth, continued burdens from advance raw material purchases, inventory, and receivables could necessitate repeated external financing such as further share placements or borrowing. This is a factor that could lead to dilution for existing shareholders.
The Q3 2026 earnings release should be checked to see whether the Q1 2026 swing to net profit continues and whether the operating margin improvement trend persists.
It should be confirmed whether Samsung SDI completes payment for its new share subscription to finalize its stake, and whether any subsequent changes occur in governance or board composition.
Progress on self-production transition should be checked by monitoring whether C&P Sinsojae's phase-one NCM precursor facility (36,000-ton capacity) comes online and begins mass production.
The concrete progress and investment scale of the company's stated phase-one recycling plant acquisition or construction plan should be monitored.
Once detailed US Prohibited Foreign Entity application standards are announced, it should be verified whether Fino's ownership structure actually falls within the scope of the restrictions.
Fino is in the process of transforming its business from telecom equipment and gaming into secondary battery precursor materials, with revenue and operating profit both surging in 2025 and net income turning positive in Q1 2026.
However, net income attributable to owners posted losses for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025, and operating cash flow remained persistently negative, meaning the durability of the earnings improvement is still to be verified.
Samsung SDI's equity investment is a strategic event tied to US ESS market supply-chain de-China requirements, and whether the stake acquisition is actually completed and translates into governance change is the key variable.
At the same time, the fact that the current largest shareholder is China's CNGR affiliate remains a US regulatory risk.
Plans to secure self-owned production capacity via C&P Sinsojae and to enter the recycling business represent an attempt to shift from a trading-centric structure to a manufacturing-margin-centric one, but as these are still at an early stage, execution outcomes need to be watched.
Investors should monitor together whether the Samsung SDI stake acquisition is finalized, when self-owned production facilities come online, and the qualitative durability of the net income improvement.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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