PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩0 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
AI Korea, whose core business is the CESS system for secondary batteries, is expanding into robotics, ESS, and data center cooling, and while quarterly revenue has grown for four straight quarters into 2026 after a 2025 sales decline and net loss, operating profit has swung between gains and losses each quarter.
Core business is the CESS system and process piping for secondary batteries, with expansion into robotics, ESS, and data center cooling
2025 revenue was 86.9bn won, down from 114.6bn won in 2024, with the company swinging to a net loss attributable to owners of -0.78bn won
Quarterly revenue rose for four straight quarters from 3Q25 to 2Q26 (10.8bn→15.2bn→18.8bn→21.6bn won), while operating profit alternated between losses and a single profitable quarter
Cumulative order backlog stood at 52.2bn won as of 1Q26, with orders expanding into North America (a Tesla ESS plant) and Europe (Hungary, Spain)
The debt ratio fell from 93.9% in 2024 to 47.9% in 2025, and operating cash flow turned positive, improving the financial structure
AI Korea's core infrastructure business centers on the Centralized Electrolyte Supply System (CESS) for secondary battery production, along with process piping and fire-protection work, and it also operates a dry-cleaning equipment business for semiconductor and display manufacturing.
As electric vehicle demand expands, CESS methods suited to bulk electrolyte injection have been adopted at major battery plants, and the company is said to have built its market position on early mass-production experience and customized equipment capability.
Building on the engineering expertise accumulated in CESS, the company has expanded its process piping business, which covers pipe design, fabrication and installation, into the U.S. market.
Founded in 2003, the company listed on KOSDAQ in April 2025, at which point it presented robotics, secondary batteries and ammonia crackers as high-value-added new growth businesses.
On the new-business front, it has developed an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) and a vision-based forklift, and plans initial deliveries in cooperation with partners such as Klobot from the second half of 2026.
It is also preparing a new business to design, install and operate lithium iron phosphate (LFP)-based energy storage systems (ESS), and based on an MOU with China's cooling specialist Envicool, is pursuing supply of water-cooled cooling systems to large domestic data centers.
Regionally, the company has signed a contract to supply CESS to a Tesla ESS plant in North America, and in Europe is expanding its overseas revenue base through Hungarian and Spanish subsidiaries participating in projects including a Volkswagen-affiliated battery plant.
Its customer base consists of top-tier domestic and global battery, semiconductor and display manufacturers, and the market is considered to have entry barriers given order practices that prioritize safety track record and reference projects.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | — | — | — |
| 2025Q3 | ₩10.8B | -₩1.9B | −17.4% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩15.2B | -₩500M | −3.0% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩18.8B | ₩600M | 3.2% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩21.6B | -₩2.6B | −12.0% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ₩114.6B | ₩8.8B | ₩12.3B | 7.7% | 27.8% | 93.9% |
| 2025 | ₩86.9B | ₩2.8B | -₩800M | 3.2% | −1.4% | 47.9% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-09-05
Consolidated 2025 revenue came to 86.95bn won, down from 114.56bn won in 2024, while operating profit fell from 8.81bn won to 2.82bn won, lowering the operating margin from 7.7% to 3.2%.
The bottom line swung from a net profit of 12.28bn won in 2024 to a net loss attributable to owners of -0.78bn won in 2025 (total net loss was -1.07bn won). Operating cash flow, however, improved markedly from -12.00bn won in 2024 to +21.31bn won in 2025, indicating stronger cash generation despite the reported loss.
On a quarterly basis, 3Q25 revenue was about 10.8bn won with an operating loss of about 1.88bn won, before 4Q25 revenue rose to about 15.2bn won with a narrower operating loss of about 0.45bn won and a net profit attributable to owners of 0.31bn won.
In 1Q26, revenue reached about 18.81bn won and operating profit turned positive at about 0.6bn won, with net profit attributable to owners jumping to 2.77bn won.
Yet in 2Q26, revenue rose again to about 21.55bn won—the fourth consecutive quarterly increase—while the operating loss widened to about 2.58bn won and the net result attributable to owners slipped to a small loss of -0.019bn won.
This pattern shows that even as revenue has steadily grown, quarterly profit and loss swing sharply depending on project-specific cost and revenue-recognition timing. Summed over the most recent four quarters (3Q25–2Q26), net profit attributable to owners totaled about 3.14bn won, remaining in positive territory.
In electrolyte supply for secondary batteries, the industry trend continues to shift from the older canister (small-container replacement) method toward centralized supply systems (CESS) capable of bulk automated injection, which is seen as aligning with battery cell makers' priorities on safety and unmanned efficiency.
In an August 16 report, Yuhwa Securities said AI Korea has won 95% of order volume from Korea's three major battery makers, with cumulative orders over the past seven years reaching 340bn won and average annual revenue growth of 36.2% from 2020 through 2024.
That said, the secondary battery industry is going through a period of slower EV demand and moderated investment pace by automakers and battery makers, meaning the timing and scale of equipment orders have become less predictable than in prior years—a common variable across equipment and infrastructure suppliers.
Against this backdrop, the company is broadening its customer base into North America and Europe, reducing dependence on any single region or customer.
At the same time, rising data center power demand driven by generative AI is elevating energy storage systems (ESS) and cooling infrastructure as new growth pillars, and the company is expanding into LFP-based ESS installation/operation and water-cooled data center cooling.
However, these new businesses remain at the MOU or small-scale validation stage, so it will take time before they contribute meaningfully to revenue.
In terms of competitive positioning, the CESS segment carries reference-based entry barriers, while the robotics, ESS and data center cooling segments already have numerous domestic and global players, making competitive intensity relatively higher.
The company said it had secured a cumulative order backlog of 52.23bn won as of 1Q26, having won contracts totaling 17.2bn won in North America—a 13.2bn won contract to manufacture and install CESS for a Tesla ESS plant plus an additional 4.0bn won contract.
In Europe, it signed outsourcing and infrastructure contracts worth 24.1bn won through its Hungarian subsidiary, while its Spanish subsidiary is pursuing over 10bn won in orders on a Volkswagen-affiliated battery plant project.
In robotics, the company said it developed Korea's first vision-based dual-purpose (manned/unmanned) loading forklift and plans initial deliveries from the second half of 2026 in cooperation with partners such as Klobot.
Its new data center cooling business is pursuing supply of water-cooled full-chain cooling systems to large domestic data centers, based on an MOU with China's Envicool.
In its August 16 report, Yuhwa Securities said the LFP-based ESS installation/operation business is nearing readiness and that small-scale orders are expected by year-end through cooperation with Gridwiz and Igis Asset Management.
The same report also mentioned the possibility of small-scale orders by year-end and future expansion into humanoid robots, based on an MOU with a Chinese robotic-arm maker.
However, since these new-business timelines are still at the MOU or discussion stage, there may be a lag before they translate into actual contracts and revenue, warranting quarter-by-quarter monitoring of progress.
The share price trades below the company's per-share net asset value. After posting a net loss attributable to owners for full-year 2025, earnings have shown a gradual recovery pattern into 2026, alternating between quarterly profits and losses.
The company currently pays no dividend, suggesting capital is being prioritized for new-business investment and overseas order expansion rather than shareholder returns. Given the significant quarter-to-quarter earnings volatility, the valuation the market assigns may also move around each earnings release.
Ultimately, the pace of recovery in the core CESS business alongside the timing of revenue materialization from robotics, ESS and data center cooling are likely to be the key variables shaping future valuation.
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 2026-09-05
The company reported a cumulative order backlog of 52.2bn won as of 1Q26, with continued order wins including a CESS contract for a Tesla ESS plant in North America and battery/infrastructure projects through Hungarian and Spanish subsidiaries in Europe.
Broadening the customer and regional base beyond any single market can be viewed as a factor diversifying the revenue base.
Beyond the core CESS business, the company is expanding into autonomous robots and vision-based forklifts, LFP-based ESS installation/operation, and water-cooled data center cooling systems.
Each new business is being pursued in partnership structures with companies such as Klobot, Envicool and Gridwiz, combining external capabilities to supplement its own.
The debt ratio fell sharply from 93.9% in 2024 to 47.9% in 2025, and operating cash flow turned from negative in 2024 to a positive 21.3bn won in 2025. Despite recording a net loss for the year, cash-generation capacity and financial soundness indicators actually improved.
From 3Q25 to 2Q26, operating results alternated between losses, losses, a profit, then a loss again, and the annual operating margin fell from 7.7% in 2024 to 3.2% in 2025. The fact that quarterly results remain unstable even as revenue grows highlights the difficulty of cost management and cost forecasting.
After posting a net profit of 12.28bn won in 2024, the company swung to a net loss attributable to owners of -0.78bn won in 2025. Even in 2Q26, despite revenue growth, the net result was a small loss, suggesting full earnings normalization may still take more time.
The robotic forklift, LFP-based ESS and data center cooling businesses are mostly still at the MOU or initial-delivery-planning stage, and the timing and scale of their conversion into actual revenue have yet to be confirmed.
Further confirmation is needed before these new businesses grow large enough to offset the core business's earnings volatility.
Amid slower EV demand, automakers and battery makers are moderating their investment pace, which could delay or reduce the timing and scale of equipment orders such as CESS. This is a variable that could affect the infrastructure business broadly, the company's core revenue source.
Because revenue is recognized based on individual project progress and delivery timing, quarter-to-quarter profit and loss variance can be large. The repeated swings between profit and loss from 3Q25 through 2Q26 illustrate this structural volatility.
Many of the new businesses in robotics, ESS and data center cooling remain at the MOU stage, and there is a possibility they may not convert into binding contracts. These fields also have numerous domestic and global competitors, which could result in intense price and technology competition.
3Q26 earnings are expected to be released — worth checking whether revenue growth extends to a fifth consecutive quarter and whether operating profit returns to positive territory.
A point to confirm whether initial deliveries of the vision-based forklift, in cooperation with partners such as Klobot, actually begin, and at what revenue scale.
Worth monitoring whether the small-scale LFP-based ESS orders through cooperation with Gridwiz and Igis Asset Management are actually signed, confirming whether the outlook mentioned by Yuhwa Securities on August 16 materializes.
Whether the water-cooled data center cooling system supply based on the MOU with China's Envicool progresses into an actual contract needs to be confirmed.
The timing and scale at which the North American (Tesla) and European (Hungary, Spain) orders are recognized as actual revenue should be tracked through quarterly disclosures.
AI Korea has the CESS business for secondary batteries as its core, while broadening into robotics, ESS and data center cooling, and quarterly revenue has grown for four straight quarters into 2026.
However, operating profit has swung sharply between losses and profits quarter to quarter, and on a full-year basis the company posted a net loss attributable to owners in 2025, reversing from a profit the prior year.
On the financial structure side, there were signs of improvement, including a lower debt ratio and a swing to positive operating cash flow.
Overseas, orders have continued from a Tesla ESS plant in North America and through Hungarian and Spanish subsidiaries in Europe, broadening the revenue base, but most new businesses in robotics, ESS and data center cooling remain at the MOU or early-validation stage, and the timing of their actual revenue contribution has not yet been confirmed.
Ultimately, the pace of profitability recovery in the core CESS business and whether the new businesses convert into binding contracts are likely to be the key variables shaping the earnings trajectory ahead.
Continued monitoring of quarterly disclosures and follow-up news on orders is warranted before drawing any investment conclusions.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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