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
Eco&Dream has expanded its precursor capacity to 35,000 tons per year with the Saemangeum campus coming online, but revenue and earnings have swung sharply since early 2026.
Full-year 2025 revenue rose 35.3% year-on-year to KRW 141.9 billion, but operating profit swung from a gain to a loss.
Revenue fell sharply year-on-year in both Q1 and Q2 2026, and the net loss widened, increasing earnings volatility.
With the Saemangeum campus (30,000 tons/year) online, combined capacity with the Cheongju plant (5,000 tons/year) reached 35,000 tons/year, with full utilization targeted for early 2026.
Following a five-year supply agreement with Umicore, discussions on additional supply with a new cathode material customer are underway.
The company is pursuing next-generation portfolio expansion, including domestic LFP precursor development and sulfide-based electrolyte materials for solid-state batteries.
Founded in 2004, Eco&Dream is an environmental materials company that operates three business segments—secondary battery materials (cathode active material precursors), catalyst materials, and catalyst systems—built on its emission-reduction catalyst technology.
According to its business report, the company leverages proprietary environmental materials technology across these three segments, and it entered the battery materials business in 2014 when it began mass-producing NCM-series cathode precursors.
The battery materials segment produces NCM precursors synthesized from nickel, cobalt, and manganese for electric-vehicle and other battery applications, while the catalyst materials segment manufactures products addressing emission regulations for automobiles, ships, and appliances.
Production sites consist of the Cheongju plant (5,000 tons/year) and the Saemangeum campus (30,000 tons/year), and the battery materials segment's revenue share had already exceeded 50% on a cumulative basis through the third quarter of 2024.
The core customer is Belgium's Umicore, with which the company signed a five-year long-term supply agreement in January 2024; this volume reportedly flows through SK On into batteries for Hyundai's newer EV platform.
The business report notes that roughly 20 precursor manufacturers operate globally, with the top tier dominated mostly by Chinese firms, and states that few domestic companies fully operate a precursor business, while Eco&Dream entered the market using only domestic capital and its own technology to achieve mass production of small-particle high-nickel precursors without foreign capital inflow.
More recently, the company became the first domestic precursor firm to pursue LFP (lithium iron phosphate) precursor development, building production facilities at its Ochang Innovation Center, and has positioned a sulfide-based electrolyte material business for solid-state batteries as a new growth pillar.
In March 2026, the company disclosed a KRW 16.2 billion high-nickel NCM precursor supply order marking the start of Saemangeum campus operations.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩39.6B | -₩300M | −0.7% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩35B | ₩300M | 0.9% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩37.3B | -₩1B | −2.8% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩16.2B | -₩800M | −4.7% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩20.2B | -₩5.3B | −26.1% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩60.5B | ₩2.3B | ₩95,215,243 | 3.7% | 0.1% | 75.4% |
| 2023 | ₩51.5B | -₩3B | -₩10.2B | −5.8% | −10.1% | 52.9% |
| 2024 | ₩104.9B | ₩500M | ₩13.5B | 0.5% | 6.1% | 83.1% |
| 2025 | ₩142B | -₩600M | -₩8.6B | −0.4% | −4.0% | 117.5% |
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
Eco&Dream's annual results have shown pronounced volatility. In 2022, revenue was KRW 60.5 billion with a modest operating profit of KRW 2.25 billion (3.7% margin), but in 2023 revenue fell to KRW 51.5 billion with an operating loss of KRW 2.97 billion (-5.8%) and a net loss of KRW 10.15 billion.
In 2024, revenue more than doubled year-on-year to KRW 104.9 billion, operating profit turned positive at KRW 0.49 billion (0.5% margin), and net income improved sharply to KRW 13.5 billion.
However, in 2025, even as revenue grew a further 35.3% to KRW 142.0 billion, the company swung back to an operating loss of KRW 0.61 billion (-0.4%) and a net loss of KRW 8.6 billion.
On a quarterly basis, Q3 2025 briefly turned profitable with revenue of KRW 35.0 billion, operating income of KRW 0.32 billion, and net income of KRW 0.32 billion, but Q4 2025 saw losses widen sharply to an operating loss of KRW 1.04 billion and a net loss of KRW 8.93 billion despite revenue of KRW 37.3 billion.
This trend worsened further in 2026: Q1 revenue plunged to KRW 16.2 billion (operating loss of KRW 0.76 billion, net loss of KRW 0.12 billion), and Q2 losses deepened further with revenue of KRW 20.2 billion, an operating loss of KRW 5.28 billion, and a net loss of KRW 5.35 billion.
According to corporate monitor data from WiseReport, consolidated Q1 2026 revenue fell 46.1% year-on-year with both operating and net income turning negative, attributed mainly to slowing EV market growth and reduced precursor shipment volumes tied to customer inventory adjustments.
Media reports on 2025 results cited one-off factors affecting earnings, including higher selling and administrative expenses, investment tax credit effects, and non-cash tax expense recognition from a reduction in deferred tax asset valuation.
The global secondary battery precursor market remains structurally dominated by Chinese producers at the top of the capacity rankings; the company's own business report notes that of roughly 20 global precursor manufacturers, the top tier is mostly Chinese.
The United States has issued detailed Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) rules restricting IRA tax credit eligibility, covering China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, meaning global battery and cathode makers that trade with or form joint ventures with these countries can be excluded from subsidy eligibility.
This has drawn relatively more attention toward domestic, technology-driven precursor companies with no Chinese equity ties.
That said, the industry itself does not yet appear to be in a full recovery phase, as slowing EV demand growth and customer inventory adjustments continued to reduce precursor shipment volumes into 2026.
Media reports around May 2026 pointed to signs of EV demand recovery in the US and Europe amid sustained high oil prices, alongside a series of new supply contracts among battery materials companies.
In the domestic competitive landscape, POSCO Future M, LG Chem, and Miraenanotech have pursued precursor entry through joint ventures with Chinese partners but have faced delays over equity-related issues, while industry observers note that Eco&Dream's expansion, along with the L&F-LS joint venture plant, is proceeding at Saemangeum on a purely domestic technology basis.
The company has set a target of full utilization at the Saemangeum campus by early 2026, having previously outlined a phased ramp-up plan for the second plant—utilization of 30-40% in Q2, 50-60% in Q3, and 80% in Q4.
In March 2026, it secured a KRW 16.2 billion high-nickel NCM precursor supply order marking the commercial start of Saemangeum operations, and in the same month it made its first appearance at 'InterBattery 2026,' where it won an InterBattery Award for its next-generation 90%-plus high-nickel NCM precursor.
The company has stated plans to sequentially unveil next-generation high-end precursor technologies—including lithium-manganese-rich (LMR), high-voltage mid-nickel, pre-heating precursors, and heteroatom doping—to strengthen technical engagement with customers.
In May 2026, media reports quoted a company official saying discussions were underway to resume NCM precursor supply with a new cathode maker outside its existing customer base, with talks expected to conclude by early the following month and deliveries potentially starting by year-end or early the next year.
At the Ochang Innovation Center, LFP precursor sample production is proceeding, and sulfide-based electrolyte materials for solid-state batteries have been positioned as a new growth pillar.
The business report states that for its battery raw material manufacturing and recycling business, the company plans to conduct feasibility review, permitting, raw material supply planning, and mass-production development review through 2026.
The stock trades at a level below its net asset value, suggesting the market is applying a cautious multiple amid the profit instability seen since 2025.
Unlike 2024, when the company posted a profit, both 2025 and the first half of 2026 saw a return to losses, making the pace of any earnings recovery an important variable for how multiples are assessed going forward.
No dividend appears to have been paid based on the most recent fiscal year, consistent with a growth-stage company still experiencing significant earnings volatility.
While revenue scale continues to expand as new plants ramp up and new customers are added, the market's assessment of the level relative to net assets could remain conservative unless margin improvement follows.
The rise in the debt ratio from 83.1% in 2024 to 117.5% in 2025 is another capital-structure metric worth monitoring alongside these trends.
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
Total precursor capacity has grown to 35,000 tons/year with the Saemangeum campus online, and beyond the five-year Umicore supply agreement, discussions are underway with a new cathode material customer. Broader customer diversification could reduce dependence on any single client and widen the revenue base. However, the scale and timing of any new contract have not yet been formally disclosed.
US FEOC rules and discussions around Europe's Critical Raw Materials Act could create a relatively favorable environment for precursor companies with no Chinese equity ties.
Eco&Dream highlights that it achieved high-nickel precursor mass-production technology using domestic capital and its own technology without foreign capital inflow. Still, this is a broader industry-wide structural trend, and the pace at which it translates into actual orders for the company bears watching.
The company is sequentially unveiling next-generation precursor technologies—domestic LFP precursor development, sulfide-based electrolyte materials for solid-state batteries, and LMR/high-voltage mid-nickel—and won an award at InterBattery 2026.
A more diverse product lineup could improve responsiveness to shifts in battery chemistry trends. However, these new businesses remain at the sample or early stage, and the timing of any revenue contribution is uncertain.
Despite revenue growth in 2025, operating and net income swung back into losses, and both Q1 and Q2 2026 saw sharply lower revenue with widening losses. WiseReport attributes this to slowing EV market growth and reduced precursor shipment volumes tied to customer inventory adjustments. If end-demand recovery is slower than expected, earnings instability could persist.
The company targeted a phased increase in second-plant utilization toward full operation by early 2026, but the actual pace depends on customer order flow. The sharp widening of the operating loss in Q2 2026 suggests a possible gap between the utilization target and actual demand.
If utilization falls short of the target, the fixed-cost burden of the large-scale facility could weigh on earnings.
The debt ratio rose from 83.1% in 2024 to 117.5% in 2025, and concerns over convertible bond issuance emerged in 2026. The widened net loss in Q4 2025 also included a one-off, non-cash tax expense tied to a reduction in deferred tax asset valuation.
If additional funding is required to sustain large-scale capacity expansion, dilution concerns for existing shareholders remain.
Slowing EV market growth and customer inventory adjustments were cited as the main causes of reduced precursor shipments in the first half of 2026. If the demand chasm persists longer than expected, the timing of earnings improvement at newly operating facilities could be delayed. Price and cost volatility tied to fluctuating international metal prices also remains an ongoing factor.
The debt ratio rose from 83.1% in 2024 to 117.5% in 2025, and concerns over market confidence emerged following convertible bond issuance. Continued large-scale expansion may require additional borrowing or capital raising, which could further affect financial soundness metrics. Changes in non-cash items such as deferred tax asset valuation can also affect reported earnings.
Chinese firms dominate the top tier of the global precursor market, creating persistent pricing pressure. If policy frameworks such as the IRA's FEOC rules or Europe's Critical Raw Materials Act change in the future, the de-risking-from-China supply chain tailwind itself could shift.
If competitors such as POSCO Future M resume efforts to internalize precursor production, the competitive landscape could change.
Check whether Q3 2026 results, to be released in mid-November, show revenue and operating profit improving from the weakness seen in Q1 and Q2.
Monitor whether the Saemangeum campus actually approaches the company's stated full-utilization target, and track the utilization trend.
Check whether the NCM precursor supply discussions with a new cathode material customer, mentioned in May 2026, result in an actual contract and disclosure.
Watch whether LFP precursor sample production underway at the Ochang Innovation Center progresses to customer approval and mass production stages.
Eco&Dream, which started in catalyst materials and shifted its business axis toward secondary battery precursors, has laid the groundwork for scale expansion by raising capacity to 35,000 tons/year with the Saemangeum campus coming online.
However, despite 2025 revenue growth, operating and net income swung back into losses, and both Q1 and Q2 2026 saw sharply lower revenue and widening losses, showing pronounced earnings volatility.
The company attributes this to temporary shipment declines from slowing EV market growth and customer inventory adjustments, while pursuing growth diversification through additional supply discussions with a new cathode maker beyond Umicore and next-generation product development in LFP precursors and solid-state electrolytes.
The sharp rise in the debt ratio over the past year reflects the capital-structure burden of large-scale expansion.
While the shift away from China-linked supply chains under US FEOC rules provides a structurally favorable backdrop, the pace at which this translates into actual orders and utilization improvement remains a variable to watch.
Ultimately, the actual pace of utilization increase at the Saemangeum campus and concrete progress in securing new customers are likely to be the key variables shaping the direction of future earnings.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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