mPlus

Founded in 2003, mPlus is a secondary battery assembly-process automation equipment specialist, described as the only domestic firm capable of turnkey design and manufacturing of the full assembly process including notching, stacking, tab welding, and packaging.

Its core product line is secondary battery assembly equipment, which accounts for the majority of revenue, with the remainder coming from precision molds, lithium-metal electrode components, and smart factory systems.

The customer base centers on pouch- and prismatic-type battery cell assembly automation equipment, supplying SK On along with other major Korean battery makers and global automakers.

The company has recently expanded from pouch-focused assembly equipment into prismatic assembly equipment and further into electrode-process equipment, broadening its position across the value chain.

In solid-state batteries, mPlus has accumulated experience supplying pilot assembly line equipment, positioning itself for next-generation battery demand.

It recently raised funding through a KRW 20 billion private bond issuance to finance new businesses linked to Physical AI, including autonomous mobile robot (IMR) development and unmanned vehicle (UV) battery projects.

This diversification is intended to create synergy with the existing battery assembly equipment business, with plans to gradually expand autonomous manufacturing systems and solid-state battery assembly lines for robotics and UAV applications.

Exports represent a significant share of revenue, and the company has recently used Delivered at Place Unloaded (DPU) contract terms to shift customs and tariff risk to customers, improving its resilience to trade barriers.

On a confirmed-financials basis, after posting a 2022 operating loss of KRW 9.9 billion on revenue of KRW 116.6 billion, mPlus swung to profitability in 2023 with revenue of KRW 340.1 billion and operating profit of KRW 23.9 billion.

In 2024, revenue fell sharply to KRW 128.7 billion, but the company maintained an operating profit of KRW 10.1 billion (7.8% margin), and in 2025 revenue rose to KRW 184.2 billion with operating profit of KRW 24.6 billion, lifting the margin to 13.3%.

Net profit followed a similar trajectory, moving from a loss of KRW 15.2 billion in 2022 to gains of KRW 20.0 billion in 2023, KRW 11.0 billion in 2024, and KRW 20.6 billion in 2025.

On a quarterly basis, revenue of KRW 88.0 billion and operating profit of KRW 7.0 billion in Q3 2025 were followed by a sharp drop to KRW 13.4 billion in revenue and KRW 2.9 billion in operating profit in Q4 2025, illustrating clear volatility tied to project-based revenue recognition timing.

Q1 2026 rebounded to KRW 51.0 billion in revenue, KRW 10.2 billion in operating profit, and KRW 11.8 billion in net profit, while Q2 2026 recorded KRW 32.0 billion in revenue, KRW 4.0 billion in operating profit, and KRW 3.6 billion in net profit.

On a first-half cumulative basis as disclosed by the company, revenue reached KRW 83.0 billion, operating profit KRW 14.2 billion (17.1% margin), and net profit KRW 15.4 billion, with gross margin improving to 28.2%.

This improvement appears driven by a combination of selective, higher-margin prismatic and ESS project orders replacing low-margin bidding, alongside rising maintenance revenue as customer utilization increases.

That said, quarter-to-quarter volatility remains inherent to equipment makers due to timing gaps between order booking and revenue recognition, and the recent BlueOval SK and Our Next Energy contract cancellations, while described by the company as having limited financial impact, remain a source of uncertainty for future revenue flow.

Persistent global EV demand slowdown (the so-called chasm) continues to drive investment delays among battery cell makers, raising concerns of order gaps across the equipment industry broadly.

However, industry observers note that the battery equipment sector, which had contracted amid the EV slowdown, has entered a recovery phase driven by ESS expansion and next-generation battery investment trends.

This recovery is seen as stemming not from large-scale new capacity additions but from line-conversion demand tied to converting existing EV lines to ESS use, LFP battery expansion, and form-factor diversification. Rising power demand from AI data centers is cited as a structural factor underpinning ESS market growth.

In terms of competitive positioning, mPlus reportedly ranked first in operating margin among six battery assembly equipment peers in the first half, in contrast to the industry's largest player by revenue, which posted an operating loss.

That said, by market capitalization the company remains ranked around fifth in the peer group, a gap some observers view as a disconnect between operating/order performance and market valuation.

In the United States, the dissolution of the BlueOval SK joint venture between SK On and Ford has led to some Kentucky plant equipment being replaced with CATL technology from China, highlighting how shifts in local policy and customer strategy in North America pose risks to order stability for Korean equipment makers.

The Korea IR Service noted that mPlus has set a mid-to-long-term target of KRW 700 billion in revenue by 2028, a roadmap implying a 52.7% compound annual growth rate from 2024 levels.

The company expects new prismatic-related orders to materialize in earnest from the second half onward, backed by its prismatic assembly equipment manufacturing capability, and is also pursuing customer expansion through new equipment such as its 600 PPM ultra-high-speed notching machine.

As of the first-half period, total cumulative orders stood at roughly KRW 308.9 billion with an order backlog of about KRW 226.2 billion, equivalent to roughly 175% of 2024 annual revenue, a factor cited as supporting revenue visibility going forward.

On solid-state batteries, the company stated it has already supplied equipment to multiple global solid-state battery makers' pilot lines and expects this to translate into large-scale follow-on orders once mass production begins.

On the new-business front, the company plans to deploy a total of KRW 40 billion in non-dilutive funding toward autonomous mobile robot (IMR) development and solid-state battery equipment, of which KRW 20 billion has already been raised via private bond, with the remainder planned through a Korea Credit Guarantee Fund P-CBO program in the second half.

That said, while the company anticipates rising demand for prismatic ESS and defense-related batteries in Europe and the U.S. driven partly by AI data center power needs, the specific timing and scale of related orders remain contingent on customer investment decisions.