Caelum

Founded in 2009 and listed on KOSDAQ in 2017, Caelum has historically operated in the steel and metal manufacturing sector, focused on geothermal power and chemical/LNG plant equipment.

The company manufactures geothermal power equipment such as flash vaporizers, condensers, and piping, as well as chemical/LNG plant equipment including heat exchangers and towers. Beyond equipment supply, it also participates in geothermal power plant projects from the development stage, providing consulting services.

Its subsidiary Kiwiplus runs the smart connectivity segment, developing and supplying kids phones and senior phones.

The aerospace segment was newly established following the completion of the absorption merger with subsidiary Hana ITM at the end of March 2026, structured as a small-scale merger with a 1:0 merger ratio and no new share issuance, effective March 31, 2026.

The aerospace segment supplies parts such as seals, shrouds, liners, nozzles, and vanes to global aircraft engine manufacturers including Hanwha Aerospace and Safran, and the company is described as the sole domestic Tier-1 aircraft engine parts supplier with a direct supply agreement with France's Safran.

The company is headquartered with its plant division in Busan, while its aerospace division operates in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. When the merger was resolved in December 2025, the company formalized a "two-track growth strategy" combining its existing green energy business with aerospace and defense.

Consolidated revenue rose from KRW 86.0 billion in 2022 to KRW 84.5 billion in 2023 and KRW 97.3 billion in 2024, before falling back to KRW 81.7 billion in 2025, showing no consistent directional trend.

Operating profit stayed in loss territory at -KRW 3.5 billion in 2022 and -KRW 4.4 billion in 2023, turned positive at KRW 2.8 billion in 2024, then swung back to a loss of -KRW 0.8 billion in 2025.

Net income attributable to owners was even more volatile, with a large loss of -KRW 46.0 billion in 2023 that cut owners' equity nearly in half, from KRW 55.1 billion in 2022 to KRW 27.8 billion in 2023.

Net income attributable to owners turned positive at KRW 4.9 billion in 2024 but reverted to a loss of -KRW 2.5 billion in 2025, failing to establish a sustained run of profitability.

On a quarterly basis, operating losses in Q3 2025 (-KRW 1.26 billion) and Q4 2025 (-KRW 1.80 billion) were followed by two consecutive quarters of operating profit in Q1 2026 (KRW 0.87 billion) and Q2 2026 (KRW 1.87 billion).

Net income attributable to owners similarly posted losses for three straight quarters from Q2 to Q4 2025 (-KRW 0.30 billion, -KRW 1.04 billion, -KRW 1.90 billion) before improving to KRW 1.52 billion in Q1 2026 and KRW 1.97 billion in Q2 2026.

Notably, Q1 2026 revenue of KRW 26.64 billion was more than double the prior quarter's KRW 11.58 billion, and net income of KRW 1.52 billion significantly exceeded operating profit of KRW 0.87 billion, suggesting possible non-operating or one-off items.

Over the trailing four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026), cumulative net income attributable to owners was approximately KRW 0.55 billion, moving out of loss territory though the absolute scale remains modest. The debt ratio spiked to 207.0% in 2023 before declining to 89.4% in 2024 and 75.5% in 2025.

The aircraft engine parts industry that the company has newly entered is viewed as being in a structural growth phase driven by recovering global air travel demand and fleet expansion.

Independent research firm ValueFinder, in an aerospace engine industry report published on July 15, 2026, projected that a production bottleneck in engine parts will persist as the global operating fleet roughly doubles by 2044.

The same report forecast the global aircraft engine market to grow at an average annual rate of about 5.5% through 2033, and noted that as of end-May, combined order backlogs at Boeing and Airbus stood at roughly 16,000 aircraft, equivalent to about 12 years of average industry production.

Amid this supply shortage, Caelum is regarded as technically competitive, being the only domestic company holding all four NADCAP special process certifications—heat treating, welding, non-destructive testing, and non-conventional machining—required for high-temperature engine parts production.

CFM reportedly plans to expand LEAP engine production from 1,407 units in 2024 to 2,600 units by 2028, and analysts suggest orders for the LPT vanes Caelum supplies could grow in line with this expansion.

In contrast, the company's legacy geothermal and chemical/LNG plant equipment segment has long been noted for high quarter-to-quarter earnings volatility tied to project-based order timing.

Some industry observers have also noted a reassessment of geothermal as one of the most stable green heat sources amid rising power demand from AI infrastructure expansion.

The smart connectivity segment (kids phones, etc.) has shown performance swayed by global economic uncertainty and a slowdown in the low-to-mid-range smartphone market, meaning the cyclical direction across the company's three segments does not always align.

The company recently unveiled a mid- to long-term strategy to build its aerospace business into a "Korean Howmet" model, benchmarking U.S.-based Howmet Aerospace.

Specific growth pillars include expanding the high-temperature engine parts portfolio, internalizing material processes, strengthening global customer partnerships, entering the MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) business, and participating in domestic engine localization programs.

Backed by Safran's technical support, the company is building a thermal barrier coating (TBC) process, targeting NADCAP certification in the coating field by the end of 2026 and applying the process to newly mass-produced vane parts starting in 2027.

It has also ordered production equipment for honeycomb liners, a high-performance aerospace material, aiming to build an internal supply system this year before pursuing external sales to domestic and overseas aerospace parts companies.

Ham Sung-il, who leads the aerospace division following the merger, stated the company's plan to internalize honeycomb material and coating processes this year to ensure consistent quality control, improve manufacturing costs, and strengthen its ability to respond to global customers.

The company is also pursuing participation in Korea's domestic engine localization program by supplying components and parts, with a mid- to long-term strategy to expand into defense and aerospace more broadly.

In the plant segment, the company is also pursuing development of new-energy supply equipment for LNG, hydrogen, and ammonia.

However, certification acquisition, equipment internalization, and localization program participation all remain at the planning stage, and whether these timelines are met will need to be confirmed through future disclosures and quarterly results.