KOSPIHolding Companies180640

Hanjinkal

₩132,800▼ 0.75%2026-10-02 close

Market Cap

₩8.8T

Turnover

₩6.9B

Volume

50,000 shares

Shares out.

66.8M

PER

—

PBR

2.9×

EPS

-₩461

Dividend Yield

0.25%

PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩360 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close

Report overview

Holding Company on the Eve of the Merged Airline; Ownership Map in Focus

Hanjinkal is a pure holding company whose earnings hinge on equity-method income from Korean Air plus brand-royalty and dividend inflows, and it now faces two simultaneous variables: the December 2026 launch of the merged Korean Air and a second-largest shareholder that keeps building its stake.

1
Korean Air is accounted for under the equity method, so airline revenue does not flow into consolidated sales while equity-method gains and losses drive net profit.
2
Consolidated operating profit turned negative in 2025, and the sum of owner-attributable net income over the latest four quarters (3Q25 to 2Q26) is also in the red.
3
Total liabilities shrank and the debt-to-equity ratio fell from 52.0% in 2022 to 20.9% in 2025, a clearly lighter balance sheet.
4
Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are set to merge on December 16, 2026 with the combined carrier launching December 17, while the mileage integration plan is still under Korea Fair Trade Commission review.
5
Hoban Construction and affiliates lifted their combined holding to 20.15%, narrowing the gap with the largest shareholder bloc (20.56%) to about 0.4 percentage points, while the fate of Korea Development Bank's stake remains a separate variable.

Business structure

Hanjinkal is the pure holding company of the Hanjin Group; its main business purpose is owning subsidiary shares, and its core income streams are dividends from subsidiaries, brand royalties, and rental income.

According to its first-quarter 2026 report filed with DART, the company comprehensively manages, enhances, and protects the group's trademarks as the holding entity, and lists Korean Air, Hanjin Transportation, Jin Air, and KAL Hotel Network among its principal subsidiaries.

Korean Air, however, is accounted for as an associate rather than a consolidated subsidiary, so the airline's multi-trillion-won revenue does not roll into Hanjinkal's consolidated sales; instead it flows into net profit through equity-method investment income.

That is why consolidated revenue stays in the hundreds of billions of won while net profit can swing by hundreds of billions, a loss structure characteristic of holding companies.

Hanjin Transportation runs logistics, parcel delivery, global forwarding, and energy operations, while KAL Hotel Network handles hotels and real-estate leasing.

In its own quarterly filing the company describes real-estate leasing as a fully competitive industry driven mainly by capital strength, implying relatively limited defensive power in the non-airline businesses.

In a May 2026 article based on separate-basis figures, Energy Economy News flagged structural losses at non-airline affiliates as a weak point in the holding company's profit mix.

Asiana Airlines, folded in beneath Korean Air, becomes a second-tier subsidiary of Hanjinkal and is therefore subject to holding-company conduct restrictions under fair trade law, a constraint that sets the clock on any future group restructuring.

In short, Hanjinkal's business model combines a single dominant axis in Korean Air, a fixed royalty income stream, and a swing factor in the non-airline affiliates.

Earnings trend

Quarterly revenue · Operating profit

₩70.7B₩9.9B25Q2₩85.4B-₩36.6B25Q3₩79.6B₩12.4B25Q4₩69.6B₩13B26Q1₩71.5B₩16.8B26Q2

RevenueOperating profit

Annual revenue · Operating profit

₩200.3B₩14.5B2022₩275.7B₩42.8B2023₩292.2B₩49.2B2024₩298.4B-₩7.5B2025

RevenueOperating profit

Quarterly results · Last 5 quarters
Quarter	Revenue	Operating profit	Op. margin
2025Q2	₩70.7B	₩9.9B	14.0%
2025Q3	₩85.4B	-₩36.6B	−42.8%
2025Q4	₩79.6B	₩12.4B	15.6%
2026Q1	₩69.6B	₩13B	18.7%
2026Q2	₩71.5B	₩16.8B	23.5%

Annual results
Year	Revenue	Operating profit	Net income (parent)	Op. margin	ROE	Debt-to-equity
2022	₩200.3B	₩14.5B	₩683.8B	7.2%	27.7%	52.0%
2023	₩275.7B	₩42.8B	₩385.1B	15.5%	14.0%	32.6%
2024	₩292.2B	₩49.2B	₩497B	16.8%	15.6%	27.0%
2025	₩298.4B	-₩7.5B	₩155B	−2.5%	4.6%	20.9%

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

Earnings analysis

On a consolidated basis, revenue rose gradually from KRW 200.3 billion in 2022 to KRW 275.7 billion in 2023, KRW 292.2 billion in 2024, and KRW 298.4 billion in 2025, so the holding company's own income base trended upward.

Operating profit, by contrast, went from KRW 42.8 billion in 2023 (15.5% margin) and KRW 49.2 billion in 2024 (16.8%) to a loss of KRW 7.5 billion in 2025 (-2.5%), a sharp widening of margin volatility.

Owner-attributable net profit swung heavily each year, at KRW 683.8 billion in 2022, KRW 385.1 billion in 2023, KRW 497.0 billion in 2024, and KRW 155.0 billion in 2025, because equity-method results from associates and non-recurring items such as asset sales set the direction of the bottom line.

The balance sheet has clearly improved. Total liabilities fell from KRW 1,339.0 billion in 2022 to KRW 716.5 billion in 2025 and the debt-to-equity ratio dropped from 52.0% to 20.9%, while total equity grew from KRW 2,576.1 billion to KRW 3,424.1 billion over the same span.

Operating cash flow also settled into positive territory, moving from negative KRW 3.6 billion in 2022 to KRW 135.5 billion in 2023, KRW 64.1 billion in 2024, and KRW 122.2 billion in 2025.

Quarterly, the third quarter of 2025 posted revenue of KRW 85.4 billion with an operating loss of KRW 36.6 billion and an owner-attributable net loss of KRW 76.6 billion, concentrating most of the annual operating deficit in that single quarter, after which operating profit recovered to KRW 12.4 billion in 4Q25, KRW 13.0 billion in 1Q26, and KRW 16.8 billion in 2Q26.

Yet in the second quarter of 2026, despite a third straight quarterly rise in operating profit, the company booked an owner-attributable net loss of KRW 87.0 billion, so operating profit and the bottom line moved in opposite directions.

Given that Korean Air's preliminary second-quarter figures announced on July 13, 2026 (separate basis, preliminary) showed revenue of KRW 5,019.9 billion alongside a net loss of KRW 97.3 billion, deteriorating associate results look like the main reason behind Hanjinkal's bottom-line reversal. As a result, the sum of owner-attributable results over the latest four quarters (3Q25 to 2Q26) is negative.

Industry analysis

Hanjinkal's end market is effectively the international air passenger and cargo market.

In its first-quarter 2026 DART filing the company cited International Air Transport Association data showing that global international passenger capacity and traffic rose 2% and 4% year on year respectively in the first quarter of 2026. The cargo cycle turned more forcefully.

Korean Air reported second-quarter 2026 cargo revenue of KRW 1,541.9 billion, up KRW 486.5 billion year on year, attributing the gain to expanding global artificial-intelligence investment and strong K-beauty exports (preliminary disclosure, July 13, 2026).

The cost cycle worked the other way: Korean Air said second-quarter operating profit fell KRW 137.1 billion year on year to KRW 261.8 billion on higher fuel costs tied to rising oil prices. On competitive positioning, the domestic market is mid-restructuring.

The Korean Air and Asiana merger reduces the number of full-service carriers to one, and the group's Jin Air, Air Busan, and Air Seoul are pursuing a March 2027 combination that would create the country's largest low-cost carrier with a 58-aircraft fleet (based on the merger contracts disclosed by each company on August 21, 2026).

That said, under the Fair Trade Commission's conditional approval, remedies including fare-increase caps apply on routes flagged for competitive concerns, so rising market concentration does not translate directly into pricing power.

Within the holding-company space, the gap between net asset value and market capitalization, the listing status of subsidiaries, and shareholder-return policy tend to serve as the main yardsticks for relative comparison.

Outlook

The firmest item on the calendar is the launch of the merged airline. Korean Air and Asiana Airlines approved the merger at a board meeting and an extraordinary shareholder meeting respectively on August 12, 2026, and plan to merge on December 16 with the combined Korean Air launching the following day.

The mileage integration plan that consumers care most about, however, had still not secured final Fair Trade Commission approval as of late August 2026, and press reports noted that if approval does not arrive by the merger date the two mileage programs must keep running separately even after the corporate combination.

The low-cost carrier reshuffle also has a timetable.

Jin Air, Air Busan, and Air Seoul signed a merger contract on August 21, 2026 and, after December extraordinary shareholder meetings and merger approval under aviation law, aim to launch the combined Jin Air on March 17, 2027, at a merger ratio of 1 for Jin Air to 0.2862684 for Air Busan and 0.7501939 for Air Seoul.

On shareholder returns, Hanjinkal's corporate value enhancement plan disclosed on February 25, 2026 set targets of maintaining a price-to-book ratio of at least 1.3 times, continuing to pay out around 50% of adjusted net profit, and raising compliance with core governance indicators above 80%.

In the same filing the company said it would review and disclose a new dividend policy after the 2024 to 2026 fiscal years covered by the current policy conclude, so the substance of that next policy is itself something to watch.

As for subsidiary earnings, Korean Air said it expects third-quarter passenger demand to rebound on lower fuel surcharges and peak summer travel, while cargo aims to secure a stable earnings base by capturing artificial-intelligence-related demand.

Ultimately Hanjinkal's results are likely to hinge on how quickly merger benefits translate into subsidiary profits and dividend capacity, and on the path of oil prices and the won-dollar rate.

Valuation

PER

—

PBR

2.9×

ROE

-0.9%

EPS

-₩461

BPS

₩49,696

Dividend per share

₩360

Hanjinkal's valuation rests on two peculiarities. First, because owner-attributable results over the latest four quarters are negative, an earnings-based multiple cannot be computed and is not displayed on screen.

Second, the price-to-book ratio sits in a premium-to-net-asset zone both against the company's own disclosed target of maintaining at least 1.3 times and against the common pattern in which holding companies trade at a discount to net assets.

In its February 2026 filing the company said its price-to-book ratio stood at 2.5 times at the end of 2025, above the KOSPI average, which fits the reading that governance events and shareholder-return expectations are reflected in the multiple to a greater degree than subsidiary earnings.

On dividends, the policy stance of paying out roughly 50% of adjusted net profit remains in place, but because separate-basis net profit is the funding source, the payout size is driven by dividend receipts and brand royalties rather than equity-method gains, and the current dividend yield level runs below the KOSPI average.

In sum, with earnings-based metrics blank, the net-asset multiple together with governance and integration milestones remain the main variables explaining the multiple, and how to weigh that combination is left to the reader.

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

Bull factors

Group structure simplifies as the merged carrier launches

With the Korean Air and Asiana merger date fixed at December 16, 2026 and the combined Korean Air launching on December 17, a stretch of uncertainty running nearly six years since the 2020 acquisition decision comes to a close.

The group's three low-cost carriers are also set to combine into Jin Air on March 17, 2027, creating the country's largest low-cost carrier with a 58-aircraft fleet. Jin Air has laid out plans to cut fixed costs by integrating maintenance, IT infrastructure, and fleet operations. For the holding company, a tidied-up affiliate structure makes subsidiary earnings easier to track.

Lighter debt load and a larger equity base

Total liabilities fell from KRW 1,339.0 billion in 2022 to KRW 716.5 billion in 2025, and the debt-to-equity ratio dropped from 52.0% to 20.9% over the same period. Total equity grew from KRW 2,576.1 billion to KRW 3,424.1 billion, and operating cash flow stayed positive for three consecutive years from 2023.

According to a July 2026 Bizwatch report, the KRW 300 billion exchangeable bond held by Korea Development Bank was redeemed at maturity late last year, which removes the path by which a bond-to-share exchange could have diluted the stake in the core subsidiary. The simultaneous reduction of interest burden and potential dilution is a financial positive.

Shareholder-return and governance targets put in writing

In a February 25, 2026 filing, Hanjinkal set out targets of maintaining a price-to-book ratio of at least 1.3 times, continuing to pay out roughly 50% of adjusted net profit, and lifting compliance with core governance indicators above 80%.

The company said compliance with core governance indicators rose from 67% as of its May 2025 disclosure to 73% after it made the year-end dividend record date more flexible in March 2026. The fact that items such as record-date flexibility were actually implemented is evidence the plan has not stayed purely on paper.

A review and disclosure of the next dividend policy is scheduled, so policy continuity can also be verified in filings.

Bear factors

The bottom line is fully exposed to fuel and currency

In the second quarter of 2026 Hanjinkal posted operating profit of KRW 16.8 billion but an owner-attributable net loss of KRW 87.0 billion, with operating and bottom-line results moving in opposite directions.

Korean Air's preliminary second-quarter figures showed operating profit down KRW 137.1 billion year on year on higher fuel costs from rising oil prices, and a swing to a net loss of KRW 97.3 billion.

A May 2026 Energy Economy News report said Korean Air's net foreign-currency debt stood at roughly USD 5.5 billion as of the first quarter, so a KRW 10 rise in the exchange rate produces about KRW 55 billion in foreign-currency translation losses.

In a structure where associate results drive net profit, that sensitivity passes straight through to the holding company.

Non-airline units and one-offs shake the operating line

Consolidated operating profit came in at negative KRW 7.5 billion in 2025 for a margin of -2.5%, a sharp retreat from 15.5% in 2023 and 16.8% in 2024.

Notably, an operating loss of KRW 36.6 billion and an owner-attributable net loss of KRW 76.6 billion were concentrated in the third quarter of 2025 alone, showing a pattern in which the annual result is dictated by events in a single quarter.

A May 2026 Energy Economy News report identified structural losses at non-airline subsidiaries as unfinished business in improving the holding company's earnings quality.

Hotels, real-estate leasing, and logistics have low correlation with the airline cycle but must demonstrate room for profitability improvement on their own.

A premium to net assets alongside a low dividend yield

In its February 2026 filing the company said its price-to-book ratio was 2.5 times at end-2025, above the KOSPI average, while its stated target is to maintain at least 1.3 times.

Given that holding companies commonly trade at a discount to net assets, the current net-asset multiple sits in a relatively demanding position.

The dividend stance of paying out around 50% of adjusted net profit remains, but a February 2026 Topdaily report pointed to the possibility of a smaller total payout after a steep drop in 2025 separate-basis net profit.

With no earnings-based multiple available, a dividend yield running below the KOSPI average can be read as a thin valuation support.

Risk factors

Governance and ownership structure

In a July 10, 2026 filing, Hoban Construction and affiliates raised their Hanjinkal holding to 20.15%, narrowing the gap with chairman Cho Won-tae's bloc at 20.56% to roughly 0.4 percentage points.

The breakdown is Hoban Construction 11.5%, Hoban Hotels and Resorts 8.34%, Hoban Industrial 0.17%, and Hoban 0.15%, with the stated purpose of holding listed as simple investment.

Delta Air Lines, generally classified as friendly to the chairman, holds 14.9%, Korea Development Bank 10.56%, and the National Pension Service 5.46%, leaving the voting map multi-layered.

In a July 13, 2026 note, iM Securities said the fixed merger date means Korea Development Bank has fulfilled its investment purpose and projected that it would prepare an exit in earnest next year, and the destination of that stake is cited as a core governance variable.

Regulation and approvals

The mileage integration plan submitted by Korean Air had not received final Fair Trade Commission approval as of late August 2026 and, per press reports, was sent back twice for revision. If approval does not come by the merger date, the two mileage programs must run in parallel even after the combined entity launches.

Deferred mileage revenue stood at KRW 2,932.2 billion for Korean Air and KRW 934.5 billion for Asiana Airlines on a separate basis at the end of the first quarter of 2026 and is carried as a liability, so how the integration plan is finalized can also affect accounting and cash flow.

Remaining steps include fare-increase remedies on routes flagged for competitive concerns, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's safety operations system change inspection, and approvals from overseas aviation authorities.

Macro and geopolitics

The surge in jet fuel prices in the first half of 2026 was cited as the direct cause of Korean Air's second-quarter operating profit decline, while a rising exchange rate eroded the bottom line through foreign-currency translation losses.

Korean Air runs fuel hedges and currency and interest-rate swaps, but hedging does not eliminate volatility. On the demand side, the channel by which higher fuel surcharges dampen Korea-originating passenger demand was visible in the second quarter of 2026.

As a holding company, Hanjinkal has limited means to offset this volatility through its own operations, leaving its exposure high.

What to watch next

Mid-November 2026
The third-quarter report should be checked for the size of equity-method investment results from associates as well as dividend receipts and brand royalties. The key question is whether operating profit and the bottom line diverged as they did in the second quarter of 2026 or realigned.
December 16 to 17, 2026
Watch whether the Korean Air and Asiana merger date and the launch of the combined Korean Air proceed on schedule, and whether the mileage integration plan wins Fair Trade Commission approval before the merger date. Without approval, running both programs in parallel leaves cost and customer-handling burdens.
During December 2026
Check whether the merger is approved at the extraordinary shareholder meetings of Jin Air, Air Busan, and Air Seoul. Also worth watching is any minority shareholder pushback on the merger ratio (Jin Air 1 to Air Busan 0.2862684 to Air Seoul 0.7501939) and the scale of appraisal rights exercised.
February to March 2027
Check the size of the year-end dividend for fiscal 2026 and the content of the new dividend policy disclosed after the 2024 to 2026 policy period ends. Because adjusted separate-basis net profit funds the payout, the scale of dividend receipts determines the capacity to deliver on policy.
Around March 17, 2027
Watch for the launch of the combined Jin Air, clearance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's safety operations system change inspection, and any filing on the disposal of Korea Development Bank's 10.56% Hanjinkal stake. A transfer of that stake would directly alter the gap between the largest shareholder bloc and the second-largest holder.

Overall view

Hanjinkal is a pure holding company with a small standalone business: consolidated revenue rose gradually from KRW 200.3 billion in 2022 to KRW 298.4 billion in 2025, yet the direction of its bottom line is set by equity-method results from Korean Air and non-recurring items.

Owner-attributable net profit indeed swung widely each year, from KRW 683.8 billion in 2022 to KRW 155.0 billion in 2025, consolidated operating profit turned negative in 2025, and the sum of owner-attributable results over the latest four quarters is also negative.

On the other hand, the balance sheet improvement is clear, with the debt-to-equity ratio falling from 52.0% in 2022 to 20.9% in 2025 alongside a larger equity base, and operating cash flow staying positive for the last three years.

Operationally, concrete dates are set for the combined Korean Air on December 17, 2026 and the combined Jin Air on March 17, 2027, raising visibility on the group's restructuring.

At the same time, variables outside management's control coexist, including Fair Trade Commission approval of the mileage integration plan, fare restrictions on routes flagged for competitive concerns, and oil price and currency volatility.

On ownership, the gap between the Hoban side at 20.15% and the largest shareholder bloc at 20.56% has narrowed to about 0.4 percentage points, with the disposal of Korea Development Bank's stake cited as a remaining variable.

Because the constructive case (simpler structure, better finances, disclosed return targets) and the cautious case (dependence on equity-method income, operating volatility, a premium to net assets with a low dividend yield) carry equal weight, the practical approach is to check off the verifiable dates and filings listed in the checkpoints above in sequence. This material is for informational purposes and contains no buy or sell recommendation and no target price.

Sources

Korea Exchange (KRX) — Prices · Market Cap · Volume
FSS electronic disclosure system (DART) — Financial statements · Dividend filings

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Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04

This content is AI analysis of market data and web search results, provided for information only. It is not a solicitation or recommendation to invest. Investment decisions and their consequences are the investor's own responsibility. Data may be delayed or contain errors.