PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩5,500 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
SeAH Steel Corporation, whose 2025 results were hit hard by US steel tariffs, has posted four consecutive quarters of improving profit in 2026 on the back of offshore wind, LNG, and Middle East project sales.
2025 consolidated operating profit fell sharply to KRW 49.6bn (3.3% margin) from KRW 202.9bn (11.2%) in 2024, hit directly by the US 50% steel tariff.
After an operating loss of KRW 5.2bn in Q3 2025, the company returned to profit and operating income has expanded each quarter through Q1 2026 (KRW 24.1bn) and Q2 2026 (KRW 34.9bn).
New project revenue recognition from the Sinan Uui offshore wind project, a Canadian LNG project, and a UK CCUS project is driving the recovery in both domestic and export profitability.
Order backlog for Middle East energy project pipe has grown 179% year-on-year, supporting the expansion of the higher-value-added product portfolio.
The company's high dependence on the US OCTG market means results remain highly sensitive to tariff policy, oil prices, and drilling activity.
SeAH Steel Corporation (306200) manufactures energy, structural, and piping steel pipe products, and is a listed affiliate majority-owned by SeAH Steel Holdings, which holds roughly 63.59% of shares.
Its core products include oil country tubular goods (OCTG), line pipe, structural pipe and piping materials, and stainless welded pipe, produced at domestic plants including Suncheon and Pohang.
Its largest end market is the US oil and gas sector, supplied through its US sales subsidiary SeAH Steel America (SSA), and the company's exposure to US exports is reportedly high relative to other Korean steelmakers.
More recently, the company has been expanding into higher value-added, energy-transition products such as pipe for offshore wind foundations and stainless pipe for LNG and CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage) applications.
Its Suncheon plant houses what is described as the largest domestic roll-forming 24-inch stainless pipe line, giving it capacity to produce large-diameter pipe for LNG applications.
In the Middle East, the company has built a track record through its API pipe plant in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, completed in 2011, supplying projects ordered by affiliates of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and it recently signed a contract to supply roughly 1,750 tons of stainless pipe to a UK government-led CCUS project in Teesside.
Domestically, NexTeel, Husteel, and Daehan Steel are cited as comparable listed peers in the pipe business, and the company also competes with large overseas OCTG suppliers, with pricing power heavily dependent on product specifications, certifications, and local production and supply networks.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩414.9B | ₩20.9B | 5.0% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩331.7B | -₩5.2B | −1.6% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩359.3B | ₩8.3B | 2.3% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩448.6B | ₩24.1B | 5.4% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩495.2B | ₩34.9B | 7.1% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩1.8T | ₩215.2B | ₩159.3B | 11.9% | 19.2% | 76.7% |
| 2023 | ₩1.9T | ₩231.9B | ₩188.8B | 12.5% | 18.9% | 54.0% |
| 2024 | ₩1.8T | ₩202.9B | ₩137.1B | 11.2% | 12.3% | 63.9% |
| 2025 | ₩1.5T | ₩49.6B | ₩30B | 3.3% | 2.7% | 62.9% |
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
Consolidated revenue in 2025 declined to KRW 1,484.8bn from KRW 1,809.4bn in 2024, while operating profit fell sharply to KRW 49.6bn (3.3% margin) from KRW 202.9bn (11.2%) in 2024.
Net income attributable to owners also dropped from KRW 137.1bn in 2024 to KRW 30.0bn in 2025, and the decline looks even more pronounced against 2023 (operating profit KRW 231.9bn, net income KRW 188.8bn) and 2022 (operating profit KRW 215.2bn, net income KRW 159.3bn).
On a quarterly basis, operating profit of KRW 20.9bn in Q2 2025 turned into an operating loss of KRW 5.2bn and a net loss of KRW 9.0bn in Q3 2025, marking the most turbulent period.
The company then swung back to profit in Q4 2025 with operating profit of KRW 8.3bn and net income of KRW 11.5bn, and the improvement continued into Q1 2026 with revenue of KRW 448.6bn, operating profit of KRW 24.1bn, and net income of KRW 21.0bn.
In Q2 2026, revenue reached KRW 495.2bn, operating profit KRW 34.9bn, and net income KRW 32.5bn, the highest quarterly operating profit and net income levels in five quarters.
Summing the most recent four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026), net income attributable to owners totaled KRW 56.0bn, already exceeding the full-year 2025 net income of KRW 30.0bn. The debt ratio fell from 76.7% in 2022 to 54.0% in 2023, before rising again to 63.9% in 2024 and 62.9% in 2025.
Overall, the 2025 earnings weakness was heavily driven by the one-off shock of the US tariff, and the sequential improvement through 2026 reflects new project revenue recognition and price increases feeding through to profit.
Since 2025, the United States has applied a uniform 50% tariff on all imported steel and abolished the previous quota system, fundamentally altering the pricing and volume structure of imported steel.
OCTG, the company's core market, is a product whose demand is heavily tied to oil prices and drilling activity, so higher oil prices can support drilling demand while a shift to lower prices can quickly weaken it.
The global steel industry faces a structural oversupply problem, with analysis suggesting that by 2028 growth in crude steel production capacity could outpace demand growth, widening the oversupply gap further.
Given this environment, many observers note that selling commodity steel products alone has limits for improving capital efficiency, intensifying competition among Korean steelmakers to shift toward higher value-added, specialized products.
Persistent weakness in domestic construction activity has kept demand for structural pipe and piping materials relatively subdued.
In contrast, natural gas development and LNG capacity expansion continue in the Middle East, centered on Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, which is expected to lift demand for pipe used in gas field development.
Order backlog for major energy project pipe within the SeAH Steel Holdings group stood at KRW 430.2bn at the end of the first half of 2026, up 179% from a year earlier.
Against this backdrop, SeAH Steel continues to carry a business structure heavily exposed to the US OCTG market while also diversifying its revenue base through offshore wind, LNG, and CCUS energy-transition projects.
The company points to continuing US oil and gas project demand, Middle East energy infrastructure investment, and the ramp-up of production for a UK offshore wind project as the basis for expected earnings improvement in the second half.
It has also outlined plans to expand sales of specialty pipe addressing LNG, CCUS, and hydrogen industries as well as growing electricity demand from AI data centers.
Group affiliate Inox Tech is expanding its clad pipe portfolio through new orders such as the QatarEnergy NFPS COMP3 project, which ties into the wider group's push into higher value-added pipe products.
Based on consensus estimates compiled in a May 2026 report by Hana Securities, 2026 revenue was projected at KRW 1,720.1bn and operating profit at KRW 89.0bn.
Daol Investment & Securities said in a July 20, 2026 report that profitability that had been damaged following the US steel tariff had largely recovered, citing expanding US-bound exports, higher OCTG prices, and rising drilling demand from elevated oil prices as favorable operating conditions.
Still, the pace of recovery in domestic construction activity and the direction of US drilling activity and tariff policy remain uncertain variables. The company is pushing through domestic pipe price increases in line with rising raw material (hot-rolled and plate) costs in an effort to defend its spread.
With results improving for four consecutive quarters from an operating loss in the third quarter of 2025 through the second quarter of 2026, market attention is shifting to how durable this profit recovery will prove to be.
Several brokerage reports have described the share price as trading at a relatively low multiple of net asset value, meaning the relationship between the pace of profit recovery and equity growth is likely to remain central to any valuation discussion going forward.
Dividends have continued to be paid annually, but with 2025 profit having shrunk, market views on dividend capacity could diverge going into subsequent periods.
Given that US tariff policy, oil prices, and Middle East order intake all interact in this industry, valuation multiples tend to be fairly volatile alongside the business cycle, which is also worth keeping in mind.
Ultimately, how the currently traded multiple should be interpreted depends heavily on how much upcoming quarterly results reconfirm the recovery trend seen so far.
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
From an operating loss of KRW 5.2bn in Q3 2025, operating profit expanded to KRW 8.3bn in Q4, KRW 24.1bn in Q1 2026, and KRW 34.9bn in Q2 2026. Net income attributable to owners over the most recent four quarters totaled KRW 56.0bn, already exceeding the full-year 2025 net income of KRW 30.0bn.
This shows that new project revenue and price increases are progressively feeding through to results following the tariff shock.
Order backlog for major energy project pipe within the SeAH Steel Holdings group reached KRW 430.2bn at the end of the first half of 2026, up 179% year-on-year. The pipe supply contract signed for the UK government-led Teesside CCUS project is cited as an example of diversifying revenue toward energy transition.
Full recognition of revenue from the Sinan Uui offshore wind project and a Canadian LNG project has also contributed to the recovery in both domestic and export margins.
Hana Securities said in a May 2026 report that it was maintaining a target price of KRW 200,000. Daol Investment & Securities said in a July 20, 2026 report that it was maintaining a target price of KRW 190,000, citing expanding US-bound exports and rising OCTG prices.
Sangsangin Securities said in a May 14, 2026 report that it raised its target price from KRW 156,000 to KRW 220,000, framing Middle East geopolitical concerns as an opportunity rather than a risk. These are each firm's individual forecasts, and a gap can exist between target prices and the actual share price.
Since 2025, the United States has applied a uniform 50% tariff on all imported steel with the quota system abolished. SeAH Steel's business structure, with a significant share of revenue tied to US exports, makes its results highly sensitive to changes in tariff policy.
When passing tariff costs on to end customers proves difficult, the parent company and its US sales subsidiary may need to share the tariff burden between them.
The global steel industry carries a structural oversupply problem, with analysis suggesting that by 2028 growth in crude steel capacity could outpace demand growth, widening the oversupply further. There are also views that commodity steel products alone have limits for improving long-term capital efficiency.
Under this structure, whether an individual company can differentiate itself can significantly determine its results.
SeAH Steel's valuation and results are heavily influenced by oil prices and the strength of the US OCTG market. Analysis suggests that if oil prices fall sharply or drilling activity by US energy companies declines, OCTG demand could weaken. This is an external variable largely outside the company's control, adding to earnings volatility.
US steel tariff policy has already reached 50%, and uncertainty remains over further increases or the reintroduction of quota systems. The outcome of trade investigations on individual products, such as anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases, can also directly affect results.
Companies like SeAH Steel with a high share of US-bound exports are particularly exposed to such changes in the trade environment.
Fluctuations in the price of hot-rolled coil and plate, the main raw materials for pipe, directly affect spreads. A stronger won-to-dollar exchange rate can benefit export profitability, but the opposite move could hurt margins.
Volatility in domestic material prices tied to tightening import regulations is another variable that needs to be managed.
If the downturn in domestic construction activity persists, recovery in domestic demand for structural pipe and piping materials could be delayed. Middle East geopolitical risk has been cited as a factor that can disrupt raw material sourcing and logistics.
The fact that OCTG demand can shift rapidly with the oil price and drilling cycle also requires ongoing monitoring.
Check whether the Q3 2026 earnings release extends the operating profit improvement to a fifth consecutive quarter, and whether further US tariff impacts are reflected.
Monitor whether the Middle East energy project pipe order backlog continues to grow and watch for disclosures of new large project orders.
Track global oil prices and the US drilling rig count to gauge OCTG demand strength, which directly affects export segment profitability.
Assess whether domestic pipe price increases hold and watch for signs of construction market recovery, both of which will determine the sustainability of the domestic segment's margin improvement.
SeAH Steel faced significant difficulty in 2025 as the structural shock of the US 50% steel tariff pushed full-year operating profit down to KRW 49.6bn. However, from a loss in Q3 2025, operating profit and net income have expanded each quarter through Q4 2025 and Q1-Q2 2026, confirming a recovery trend.
This recovery has been driven by a combination of factors, including revenue recognition from new projects such as the Sinan Uui offshore wind project, a Canadian LNG project, and a UK CCUS project, together with domestic pipe price increases and a stronger won-to-dollar exchange rate.
At the same time, a 179% increase in the Middle East energy project order backlog points to early signs of business diversification that could reduce reliance on the US OCTG market.
Still, the direction of US tariff policy, the oil price and drilling activity cycle, and the pace of domestic construction market recovery remain variables that require continued monitoring.
As brokerage target prices and forecasts also vary by report, the key point to watch going forward will be how much upcoming quarterly results reconfirm the durability of this recovery.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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