Airrane

Founded in 2001, Airrane develops, manufactures and sells gas separation membrane products using polymer-based hollow fiber technology, and listed on KOSDAQ in 2024 as a technology growth company.

Using its proprietary membrane, the company supplies modules and systems that separate nitrogen, methane and carbon dioxide at high purity, applied to nitrogen generation, biogas upgrading and carbon capture.

It holds a unique domestic position in a supplier-favored global market where only five companies directly manufacture and sell gas separation membranes.

Revenue is composed of membrane module sales and system (equipment) sales; modules tend to generate recurring revenue while system sales show large quarterly volatility due to accounting recognition upon completion of long-term construction contracts.

Domestic and overseas energy companies including the China Coal Research Institute, Korea Gas Corporation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power use its nitrogen generation solutions, while Lotte Chemical operates a CO2 capture system supplied by Airrane.

Strategic investors holding a combined 21.8% stake post-IPO include Series A investors Lotte Chemical, POSCO Investment and HL D&I Halla, and Series B investors SK Innovation and SK IE Technology, aiming to expand captive revenue through collaboration.

China accounts for more than half of total revenue, making regional demand trends highly influential on results.

New businesses include recovering and regenerating spent ionomer for supply to hydrogen vehicle and ESS membrane makers, and liquefying captured CO2 for supply to fresh food distributors, home shopping companies and shipbuilders.

On a consolidated basis, despite 2023 revenue of KRW 16.34bn and operating profit of KRW 0.24bn (1.5% margin), the company posted a net loss of KRW 15.06bn, which appears to reflect a large one-off item outside core operations.

In 2024, revenue rose to KRW 24.50bn (7.6% operating margin) and net income turned positive at KRW 1.98bn, marking a swing from loss to profit, and in 2025 profit recovery continued with revenue of KRW 28.08bn, operating profit of KRW 3.09bn (11.0% margin) and net income of KRW 2.80bn.

By quarter, Q3 2025 revenue was KRW 6.01bn with operating profit of KRW 0.49bn, and Q4 2025 revenue was KRW 7.18bn with operating profit of KRW 0.35bn, showing revenue growth alongside a somewhat softer operating margin.

In Q1 2026, revenue was KRW 6.34bn with operating profit of KRW 1.16bn, a marked margin improvement, and net income rose to KRW 1.78bn.

In Q2 2026, revenue was KRW 7.63bn and operating profit KRW 0.83bn, while net income surged to KRW 4.09bn, a scale far exceeding the operating profit increase, suggesting a substantial non-operating factor whose precise cause requires checking the footnotes of the quarterly filing.

On a standalone basis, the company reported H1 2026 revenue of KRW 13.97bn and operating profit of KRW 1.98bn, down 6.1% and 12.0% year-on-year respectively, which management attributed to higher export logistics costs and accounting timing shifts in system-sales revenue recognition.

Module sales grew year-on-year on new customer additions, but the decline was driven largely by system sales falling by nearly half. CEO Ha Seong-yong said he expects a second-half earnings recovery based on module sales growth momentum and new order activity.

Gas separation membrane technology is a high-barrier industry held by only a small number of companies globally, used to selectively separate gases such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide and methane.

Domestically, the Biogas Promotion Act, enacted in 2023 and expanding enforcement from the public sector in 2025 to the private sector in 2026, requires organic waste treatment operators to install biogas upgrading facilities, building a demand base for related equipment.

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is expected to expand on the back of tightening regulation, including domestic carbon neutrality policy and discussions around the European Union's carbon border tax.

Competing technologies include cryogenic separation, adsorption and absorption methods, with membrane technology considered to have a relative edge in eco-friendliness and equipment efficiency.

The Alaska LNG project, amid repeated US requests for Korean participation, has drawn market attention as a related carbon capture and LNG equipment theme, though the project's final investment decision and timing remain unconfirmed.

Industry observers note that the gas membrane market continues to be characterized by a structurally supplier-favored dynamic due to the small number of producers.

Airrane has been remodeling and expanding equipment at its Cheongju No.2 plant to bring it online, and is pursuing a plan to expand gas membrane module production capacity in stages from 20,000 units in 2024 to 40,000 in 2025 and 60,000 in 2026, according to a December 2025 report from Korea Investment & Securities.

The same report noted that ionomer recycling production capacity is planned to expand in stages from 0.5 tons in 2026 to 3 tons in 2027 and 6 tons in 2028.

The company said it is working with local governments and hydrogen ecosystem operators to build biogas upgrading plants and CO2 capture-liquefaction facilities for hydrogen-producing steam methane reformers, and is developing a new biogas upgrading product it aims to launch to market within the year.

CEO Ha Seong-yong previously stated in a media interview a goal of achieving five-fold revenue growth within five years through membrane technology innovation.

The company followed through on a listing-time pledge to retire all treasury shares once escrow was lifted, and carried out a 100% bonus share issuance in early 2026 to expand the number of shares outstanding.

How quickly these mid-to-long-term plans convert into actual revenue, however, remains something to be verified through second-half and future quarterly results.