PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩400 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
Noroo Paint posted consecutive quarters of sharp profit improvement in the first half of 2026 after a soft 2025, but the slow pace of Korea's construction-sector recovery remains the key swing factor for future earnings.
2025 consolidated revenue fell to KRW 771.1bn with the operating margin narrowing to 3.9%, but the first and second quarters of 2026 showed a clear sequential rebound.
After a net loss attributable to owners in Q4 2025, the company returned to profit in both Q1 and Q2 2026, extending the earnings recovery.
In April 2026, Noroo Paint disclosed a corporate value-up plan centered on technology innovation, risk response, and stronger financial soundness.
Korea's construction sector, the company's main downstream market, is expected to see modest public-sector-led recovery in 2026, though analysts note continued weakness in the private building segment.
The debt-to-equity ratio has improved from 89.5% in 2022 to 66.3% in 2025.
Noroo Paint is a paint and coatings manufacturer established in 2006 via a spin-off from Noroo Holdings and belongs to the Noroo Group.
The company holds five subsidiaries including Noroo Coil Coating, through which it also operates PCM (pre-coated metal) steel sheet coatings, mobile device paint manufacturing and sales, and paint trading businesses.
Its core product lines consist of architectural paints, industrial paints, and automotive refinish paints, with each segment forming a stable revenue base. Architectural paint demand is closely tied to domestic new-build, remodeling, and interior activity, making it sensitive to the construction cycle.
PCM steel sheet coatings, used in home appliances and building exteriors, are known to have contributed relatively stable earnings.
The company is focused on technology-driven management and new product development for global markets, pursuing joint research on eco-friendly products with overseas firms and research institutes.
Domestically, the paint market is competitive, with players such as KCC and Samhwa Paints, and as the market has matured, the shift toward eco-friendly and functional products has become a key competitive variable.
Expanding through cooperation with overseas subsidiaries remains a strategic direction the company continues to pursue.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩224.4B | ₩14.1B | 6.3% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩195B | ₩8.9B | 4.5% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩179.5B | ₩2.6B | 1.4% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩176.2B | ₩7.9B | 4.5% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩229.9B | ₩24.3B | 10.6% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩753.3B | ₩26.1B | ₩11.5B | 3.5% | 3.3% | 89.5% |
| 2023 | ₩780.5B | ₩41.9B | ₩27.9B | 5.4% | 7.4% | 78.6% |
| 2024 | ₩793.8B | ₩43.7B | ₩35.2B | 5.5% | 8.6% | 64.1% |
| 2025 | ₩771.1B | ₩30.2B | ₩16.5B | 3.9% | 4.0% | 66.3% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-08-21
Consolidated revenue in 2025 came to KRW 771.05bn, down from KRW 793.85bn in 2024, while operating profit fell sharply to KRW 30.18bn (3.9% margin) from KRW 43.66bn (5.5%) in 2024. Net profit attributable to owners also more than halved, from KRW 35.17bn in 2024 to KRW 16.46bn in 2025.
Looking back over 2022-2024, however, revenue had risen steadily from KRW 753.3bn (2022) to KRW 780.5bn (2023) to KRW 793.8bn (2024), with net profit also improving from KRW 11.5bn to KRW 27.9bn to KRW 35.2bn over the same span, making 2025 a year in which that momentum reversed.
On a quarterly basis, revenue of KRW 224.4bn, operating profit of KRW 14.1bn, and net profit of KRW 5.7bn in Q2 2025 gave way to KRW 195.0bn/KRW 8.9bn/KRW 8.0bn in Q3, and then KRW 179.5bn/KRW 2.6bn with a net loss of KRW 0.6bn in Q4 2025, marking a clear deceleration.
That trend reversed in 2026, with Q1 revenue of KRW 176.2bn, operating profit of KRW 7.9bn, and net profit of KRW 6.9bn, followed by an accelerated rebound in Q2 to revenue of KRW 229.9bn, operating profit of KRW 24.3bn, and net profit of KRW 18.6bn.
Combined net profit attributable to owners over the trailing four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026) reached KRW 32.79bn, already exceeding the full-year 2025 net profit of KRW 16.46bn.
Shareholders' equity grew steadily from KRW 352.7bn in 2022 to KRW 416.0bn in 2025, alongside an improving debt-to-equity ratio that fell from 89.5% to 66.3% over the same period, indicating a more stable financial structure.
Operating cash flow shrank from KRW 61.0bn in 2023 to KRW 32.7bn in 2025, a pattern that appears linked to the contraction in profit scale.
Construction is the largest downstream market for Korea's paint industry, with architectural paint demand directly linked to new-build and remodeling volumes.
Analysis from Korea's construction policy research institutions suggests that while the worst of the private-sector construction investment downturn may be over, a visible recovery in 2026 is considered unlikely.
The Korea Institute of Construction Industry forecasts that 2026 construction orders will rise 4.0% year-on-year, a structure led by public-sector spending such as expanded SOC budgets, with growth in private housing and building construction expected to remain limited.
Indeed, construction output in April 2026 fell 5.5% year-on-year, following a 5.8% decline the prior month, pointing to a delayed recovery in actual construction activity.
On the cost side, crude oil and raw material price volatility along with a weaker won have been cited as cost pressures, while stabilizing oil prices were noted as a factor behind the earnings improvement in Q1 2026.
Within this environment, Korea's paint market remains a mature and competitive space against players such as KCC and Samhwa Paints, where diversification into eco-friendly, functional, and industrial coatings such as PCM is emerging as a key differentiator.
On April 22, 2026, Noroo Paint disclosed a corporate value-up plan setting goals around executing a technology-innovation-based future growth strategy, proactively responding to compound risks, and increasing operational efficiency through data-driven operations.
The company stated it would strengthen future core technology areas including bio-based materials, eco-friendly paints, and new materials to secure growth drivers, while also outlining a direction to bolster liquidity through improved cash flow and financial soundness.
Although the domestic paint market has matured, demand for eco-friendly and functional coatings continues to grow, and the company has framed development of high-performance, eco-friendly products alongside overseas market expansion as its strategic pillars.
The Q1 2026 earnings improvement was attributed to stabilizing oil prices and steady performance in the PCM coatings segment, even as raw material cost pressures weighed on the architectural and industrial paint businesses.
Whether the profit recovery that continued into Q2 persists in the second half will likely hinge on the pace of construction-sector recovery and raw material/foreign exchange conditions.
Whether the financial soundness and liquidity strengthening direction outlined in the value-up plan materializes into concrete shareholder return measures such as dividends or buybacks is also a point that will require further confirmation.
Noroo Paint's shares trade at a level below the company's net asset value, a relationship that can be understood in the context of the relatively modest profit scale recorded in 2025.
Since combined profit over the trailing four quarters has already surpassed the full 2025 annual profit, evaluating the relationship between the earnings trend and the current share level warrants consideration of this shift relative to past results.
The stock has historically traded within a double-digit price-to-earnings band over multiple years, and should the earnings recovery continue, this relationship to past bands may again draw attention.
The company has paid cash dividends annually and appears to have maintained its shareholder-return stance even through the earnings recovery.
Whether the financial soundness and liquidity-strengthening direction outlined in the value-up plan translates into concrete implementation is a point that will require further confirmation through future disclosures.
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 2026-08-21
After a net loss in Q4 2025, the company swung back to profit in both Q1 and Q2 2026, with Q2 operating profit of KRW 24.3bn marking the highest level among recent quarters. Combined net profit over the trailing four quarters has already exceeded the full-year 2025 figure, underscoring the strength of the recovery.
Stabilizing oil prices and steady contribution from the PCM coatings segment are cited as factors supporting this rebound.
The debt-to-equity ratio has steadily declined from 89.5% in 2022 to 66.3% in 2025, while shareholders' equity expanded from KRW 352.7bn to KRW 416.0bn over the same period. This aligns with the financial soundness direction the company outlined in its value-up plan.
A more stable financial structure could support the company's ability to respond to future raw material or industry cycle fluctuations.
In its value-up plan, the company presented strengthening future core technology areas such as bio-based materials, eco-friendly paints, and new materials as growth drivers.
Industrial segments such as PCM steel sheet coatings and mobile device paints, which are less dependent on the construction cycle than architectural coatings, contribute to portfolio diversification. Joint research on eco-friendly products with overseas firms and research institutes also continues.
While domestic construction investment is expected to see modest improvement led by the public sector, analysis continues to point to ongoing weakness in the private building segment. As shown by the 5.5% year-on-year decline in construction output in April 2026, the recovery in actual activity has been delayed.
Since architectural paint sales are directly tied to this market, the pace of recovery could prove slower than expected.
In 2025, revenue and operating profit declined sequentially from Q2 through Q4, culminating in a net loss in Q4. While the trend reversed in Q1 and Q2 2026, this degree of quarter-to-quarter volatility adds uncertainty to earnings forecasting.
The possibility that quarterly results could swing significantly again due to shifts in raw materials, foreign exchange, or the construction cycle cannot be ruled out.
The architectural and industrial paint segments have faced cost pressure from rising raw material prices, with a weaker won also cited as a cost factor.
Since the Q1 2026 earnings improvement is understood to have been aided by stabilizing oil prices, a renewed rise in oil prices or the exchange rate could conversely pressure margins.
Increased volatility in international raw material markets has also been flagged as a cost burden across the broader construction industry.
Architectural paint, the company's core revenue source, is heavily dependent on the domestic construction cycle, and the outlook for limited recovery in the private building segment remains an ongoing risk factor. How much the modest, public-order-led improvement can offset private-sector weakness remains a key question.
Prices of resins, pigments, and other raw materials that make up a significant portion of paint production costs, along with crude oil prices and exchange rates, directly affect margins.
Since both the 2025 earnings slowdown and the 2026 recovery have coincided with shifts in these cost factors, similar volatility could recur going forward.
As a member of the Noroo Group, there is a theoretical possibility that group-level governance and intercompany transaction structures could diverge from minority shareholder interests.
Given that the value-up plan outlined financial soundness and liquidity strengthening, ongoing monitoring of how shareholder-return policy is concretely designed during implementation will be necessary.
Q3 2026 preliminary earnings are expected to be disclosed around this time, and whether the recovery seen in Q1 and Q2 continues into Q3 will be worth confirming.
Construction investment and start-of-construction statistics released by the Ministry of Land and the Korea Institute of Construction Industry will provide a checkpoint on the pace and direction of any private building sector recovery.
Follow-up disclosures on the implementation of the value-up plan disclosed in April, particularly regarding financial soundness, liquidity strengthening, and shareholder returns, will be worth tracking.
Full-year and Q4 2026 confirmed earnings are expected to be disclosed around this time, marking the point at which the annual profit recovery following the Q4 2025 net loss will be finally confirmed.
Noroo Paint saw revenue and profit decline in 2025 versus the prior year, culminating in a net loss in Q4, but the company posted consecutive profit recoveries in Q1 and Q2 2026, with combined net profit over the trailing four quarters already surpassing the full-year 2025 figure.
Stabilizing oil prices and contribution from the PCM coatings segment are cited as factors behind the recovery, while the sustainability of that recovery bears watching given that Korea's construction sector is expected to see only modest, public-sector-led improvement amid continued weakness in private building activity.
In April 2026, the company disclosed a value-up plan outlining directions for technology innovation, new business strengthening, and improved financial soundness, and its financial structure—including an improving debt ratio—has steadily stabilized in recent years.
Still, variables such as margin pressure from raw material and FX swings, quarterly earnings volatility, and the pace of construction-sector recovery remain points that require ongoing confirmation.
Investors may wish to monitor the upcoming Q3 preliminary earnings, construction investment indicators, and the implementation status of the value-up plan together.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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