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
Revenue has declined for four straight years while the operating loss has narrowed, even as a prolonged governance dispute between the founding family and a shareholder alliance led by Eugene Autotech continues through the courts.
2025 revenue fell to KRW 155.3 billion year over year, while the operating loss narrowed to KRW 6.3 billion from KRW 10.0 billion in 2024
A one-off net loss of KRW 17.5 billion in Q4 2025 pushed the full-year net loss to KRW 21.3 billion
The net loss over the latest four quarters (Q3 2025-Q2 2026) narrowed to roughly KRW 5.2 billion versus the prior full year
A shareholder alliance led by Eugene Autotech's CEO expanded its stake to 35.62% as of May 2026 but has repeatedly lost general meeting votes
The debt ratio hit a four-year high of 231.7% in 2025, keeping capital erosion concerns in focus
Castec Korea is a specialized casting manufacturer established in 1999 through an employee buyout spin-off from LG Electronics, with automotive engine, brake, and drivetrain components along with electronic parts as its core business.
The head office is in Gangseo-gu, Busan, with a plant in Jinhae-gu, Changwon, and overseas subsidiaries in China, Vietnam, and Romania.
Product lines are broadly divided into automotive turbocharger parts (turbine housings and center housings), other automotive parts (brake discs, caliper housings and carriers, knuckles, and differential gear cases), electronic compressor parts (fixed and orbiting scrolls, main frames), and heavy-equipment hydraulic parts.
The heavy-equipment hydraulic parts consist of castings and machined components for excavator travel devices, swing devices, and hydraulic pumps, supplied to Mottrol (formerly Doosan Mottrol), Hallutech, and PNM, which in turn deliver to end equipment makers such as Doosan Infracore and Hyundai Construction Equipment.
Hydraulic pump-related products are also sold to LG Electronics' Changwon plant, WILO, and HIGEN. Production of travel-device products is gradually expanding at both the Korean and Vietnamese plants.
The company listed on KOSDAQ in 2014, and in recent years persistent losses combined with a governance dispute have led to parallel efforts in business restructuring and asset sales to improve its financial position.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩42.6B | ₩49,000,274 | 0.1% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩38.6B | ₩64,124,030 | 0.2% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩36.3B | -₩4.3B | −11.8% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩37.3B | -₩1.2B | −3.1% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩43.5B | ₩63,935,723 | 0.1% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩182B | -₩10.8B | -₩6.2B | −5.9% | −6.8% | 185.5% |
| 2023 | ₩172.9B | -₩9.2B | -₩16.1B | −5.3% | −21.8% | 206.9% |
| 2024 | ₩158.5B | -₩10B | -₩9.4B | −6.3% | −11.9% | 164.6% |
| 2025 | ₩155.3B | -₩6.3B | -₩21.3B | −4.0% | −38.5% | 231.7% |
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
Annual revenue shrank for four consecutive years, from KRW 182.0 billion in 2022 to KRW 172.9 billion in 2023, KRW 158.5 billion in 2024, and KRW 155.3 billion in 2025.
The operating loss, by contrast, narrowed over the same period from KRW 10.8 billion in 2022 and KRW 9.2 billion in 2023 to KRW 10.0 billion in 2024 and KRW 6.3 billion in 2025, with the operating margin improving from -5.9% to -4.0%.
Net income moved in the opposite direction, however, as the 2025 net loss widened sharply to KRW 21.3 billion from KRW 9.4 billion in 2024.
This was driven decisively by a KRW 17.5 billion net loss recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, a figure that far exceeds that quarter's operating loss of KRW 4.3 billion, pointing to a substantial one-off or non-operating charge.
On a quarterly basis, the company posted modest operating profits in Q2 2025 (net loss of KRW 2.9 billion) and Q3 2025 (net profit of KRW 1.8 billion) before swinging sharply into loss in Q4.
Subsequently, Q1 2026 (net profit of KRW 1.2 billion) and Q2 2026 (net profit of KRW 9.3 billion) both showed only marginal operating results (-KRW 1.2 billion and +KRW 0.1 billion, respectively) yet posted meaningfully positive net income, a recurring pattern in which non-operating items drive the bottom line.
As a result, the net loss over the latest four quarters (Q3 2025-Q2 2026) totaled roughly KRW 5.2 billion, a considerable improvement from the full-year 2025 net loss of KRW 21.3 billion.
On the cash flow side, operating cash flow stayed positive from 2023 through 2025 (ranging from KRW 5.5 billion to KRW 21.5 billion), except for a negative figure in 2022, suggesting underlying cash generation has held up despite the reported accounting losses.
Castec Korea's business spans three end markets: automotive (turbocharger, brake, and drivetrain parts), home appliances (compressor parts for air conditioners and refrigerators), and heavy equipment (excavator hydraulic parts).
Automotive turbochargers have historically benefited from fuel-efficiency demand in internal combustion vehicles, but as the shift toward electric vehicles accelerates, this segment could face structural changes in demand over the long term.
Compressor parts for appliances tend to track the production volumes of major domestic and overseas appliance makers along with seasonal demand tied to air conditioner sales.
The heavy-equipment hydraulic parts segment moves closely with the construction machinery cycle, feeding into a multi-tier supply chain through Mottrol, Hallutech, and PNM before reaching end equipment makers such as Doosan Infracore and Hyundai Construction Equipment.
Within the KOSDAQ automotive parts sector, Castec Korea ranks toward the lower end by revenue scale and market capitalization, and it competes on cost with other casting and parts makers.
More recently, the company has been developing large-scale orders for excavator swing-device castings, part of an ongoing effort to reduce reliance on autos and appliances and expand the weight of the heavy-equipment segment.
The company succeeded in winning orders and developing hydraulic pump castings in 2020 and is now supplying major customers, and it has recently expanded development following large-scale orders for swing-device castings, which management expects to contribute to future revenue growth.
Production of travel-device products is planned to expand gradually at both the Korean and Vietnamese plants, with an eye toward broadening the customer base at home and abroad.
On the management front, following a board resolution on March 11, 2026, Yoon Ho-sung was newly appointed as CEO effective March 20, 2026, succeeding Yoon Sang-won whose term had expired.
At the regular general meeting on March 27 of the same year, the incumbent management side maintained the upper hand in the shareholder-proposal vote.
However, the shareholder alliance led by Eugene Autotech CEO Lee Hak-cheol was reported to hold a 35.62% stake as of May 27, 2026, continuing to exceed the roughly 27.4% combined stake held by the founding family and related parties.
A lawsuit seeking to invalidate a resolution from the April 2025 extraordinary general meeting was decided in the plaintiff's favor at the first-instance court in October 2025, and on May 21, 2026 the Busan High Court dismissed the appeals of both the plaintiff and the defendant, upholding the first-instance ruling.
Going forward, it will be important to watch for continued legal disputes over corporate control as well as any additional capital raising or ownership structure changes that may arise in the process.
Given persistent net losses in recent years, conventional price-to-earnings comparisons are of limited use for this stock. Shares tend to trade at a discount to net asset value, with the price-to-book ratio remaining below 1.
However, since net assets themselves have been shrinking each year, the size of that discount should not be compared simplistically with past levels.
The company has no history of dividend payments, and improving its financial structure and resolving the governance dispute remain more pressing priorities than shareholder returns.
While the net result over the latest four quarters improved versus the full-year 2025 figure, the fact that this improvement relied heavily on non-operating rather than core operating factors is worth keeping in mind when interpreting valuation.
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
Although revenue has fallen for four straight years, the operating loss narrowed from KRW 10.8 billion in 2022 to KRW 6.3 billion in 2025, with the operating margin improving from -5.9% to -4.0%. This can be interpreted as partly reflecting cost reduction and product mix changes. In recent quarters (Q3 2025 and Q2 2026), the company even posted small operating profits.
Excluding 2022, operating cash flow remained positive throughout 2023-2025. The fact that cash generation has held up even amid ongoing accounting losses can be viewed as a positive from a financial capacity standpoint.
Large-scale orders for excavator swing-device castings are progressing, spurring active development, and hydraulic pump products are already being stably supplied to major customers.
Travel-device product output is also expanding at both the Korean and Vietnamese plants, which could serve as a diversification factor reducing dependence on the auto and appliance segments.
Revenue declined every year from KRW 182.0 billion in 2022 to KRW 155.3 billion in 2025. Even with an improving operating margin, as long as the top line keeps contracting there may be limits to a recovery in absolute profit scale.
A large one-off net loss of KRW 17.5 billion in Q4 2025 pushed the full-year net loss to KRW 21.3 billion, and the subsequent rebound in net income in Q1-Q2 2026 was also driven mainly by non-operating factors while operating profit itself remained marginal. This leaves questions about the quality of earnings generated from core operations.
Equity has continued to shrink, from KRW 90.3 billion in 2022 to KRW 55.4 billion in 2025, while the debt ratio hit a four-year high of 231.7% in 2025.
At the same time, the shareholder alliance led by Eugene Autotech CEO Lee Hak-cheol has expanded its stake to 35.62%, exceeding the roughly 27.4% held by the founding family side, keeping the governance dispute prolonged and potentially generating further dilution or litigation costs along the way.
The shareholder alliance led by Eugene Autotech CEO Lee Hak-cheol held a 35.62% stake as of May 2026, yet has repeatedly lost general meeting votes due to procedural issues such as voting-rights restrictions.
In a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the April 2025 extraordinary general meeting resolution, the first-instance court ruled in the plaintiff's favor in October 2025, and in May 2026 the Busan High Court dismissed both parties' appeals, upholding that ruling. A prolonged legal dispute could sustain management uncertainty and additional legal cost burdens.
Equity has declined for four consecutive years to KRW 55.4 billion in 2025, and the debt ratio stands at a four-year high of 231.7%. If net losses continue, additional capital-raising measures such as rights offerings or asset sales may again become necessary, which could dilute existing shareholders.
Automotive turbocharger and brake parts, appliance compressor parts, and heavy-equipment hydraulic parts each depend on the production volumes and cycles of their respective end markets.
The structure involves high revenue dependence on specific finished-goods makers or first-tier partners such as Mottrol, Hallutech, and PNM, so changes in orders from these customers or a downturn in their business could directly affect results.
The Q3 2026 (July-September) earnings disclosure will show whether the operating profit trend continues and whether net income improves even without relying on non-operating items.
It should be confirmed whether either party files a further appeal to the Supreme Court against the Busan High Court's dismissal, and if so, how that process unfolds. This is a key variable for whether the legal dispute over corporate control will be prolonged further.
It is worth monitoring whether the stake held by the shareholder alliance led by Eugene Autotech CEO Lee Hak-cheol (35.62% as of May 27, 2026) changes further, and whether the founding family side takes countervailing action to secure additional shares.
Once the FY2026 annual equity and debt-ratio figures are disclosed, it will be time to re-examine whether the debt ratio, which rose to 231.7% in 2025, and the continuing decline in equity have eased.
Castec Korea has gradually improved its operating loss size and margin even as revenue has fallen for a fourth straight year.
However, a large one-off net loss in Q4 2025 significantly widened the full-year net loss, and the subsequent net income rebound in the first half of 2026 relied heavily on non-operating factors, making the quality of earnings difficult to assess.
On the financial side, equity has continued to decline and the debt ratio hit a four-year high, keeping the need for further capital measures a live possibility.
At the same time, an unusual dynamic persists in which the founding family side has retained the upper hand in general-meeting votes and court rulings even as the shareholder alliance led by Eugene Autotech CEO Lee Hak-cheol has expanded its stake beyond 35%, suggesting the legal dispute over corporate control could continue.
Operationally, the company is expanding development of heavy-equipment components such as excavator swing and travel devices and hydraulic pumps, part of an ongoing effort to reduce dependence on the auto and appliance segments.
Overall, this is a phase in which gradual signs of operating improvement coexist with uncertainty surrounding net income, balance sheet health, and governance, warranting continued attention to upcoming quarterly results and the progress of legal proceedings.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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