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
Contec has expanded its value chain from ground station construction to satellite manufacturing and data services, growing revenue, but consolidated operating profit remains in loss territory.
2025 consolidated revenue rose about 26% year over year to KRW 86.9 billion, but the operating loss widened to KRW 16.2 billion.
Net income attributable to owners turned positive for three consecutive quarters from Q4 2025 through Q2 2026, even as operating profit stayed in the red.
The acquisition of AP Satellite gave the company a vertically integrated structure spanning satellite manufacturing (upstream) and ground station/data services (downstream).
New and follow-on contracts with KARI, the Public Procurement Service, and a Kazakhstan state research institute continue to expand the order base.
Capital structure improved after the 2023 KOSDAQ listing from a capital-deficient state in 2022, though accumulated losses have shrunk owners' equity each year since.
Contec is a space systems and solutions company that provides a downstream value chain covering ground station engineering, Ground Station as a Service (GSaaS) network leasing, satellite imagery data processing, and AI-based image analysis.
In 2024 the company acquired a stake in AP Satellite, extending into the upstream area of satellite terminal and bus manufacturing and forming a vertically integrated structure. The acquisition was financed in part through convertible bond issuance.
Through its subsidiary TXSpace, the company is building in-house antenna manufacturing capability aimed at reducing external procurement costs.
Key customers cited include public and overseas institutions such as the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the Public Procurement Service, KAIST, and a Kazakhstan state-funded research institute, alongside private space partners such as SpaceX, Amazon, and the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC).
The domestic satellite imagery service market is described as an oligopoly centered on Contec and Satrec Initiative. Contec reportedly operates multiple proprietary ground stations across roughly a dozen countries, with plans to add sites in North America and Europe.
The business combines order-based ground station construction with recurring GSaaS and data revenue, meaning heavy upfront infrastructure investment is paired with potential fixed-cost leverage as utilization rises.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩26.6B | -₩5.3B | −20.0% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩15.2B | -₩5B | −33.1% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩26.3B | -₩700M | −2.5% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩18.2B | -₩2.4B | −13.4% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩18B | -₩6.8B | −37.8% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩12.8B | -₩1.9B | -₩20.7B | −14.6% | — | −368.0% |
| 2023 | ₩15.8B | -₩10B | -₩64.9B | −63.1% | −59.2% | 11.0% |
| 2024 | ₩69B | -₩12.2B | -₩22.6B | −17.7% | −24.3% | 48.1% |
| 2025 | ₩86.9B | -₩16.2B | -₩7.4B | −18.6% | −8.8% | 53.4% |
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 revenue grew roughly 6.8-fold over four years, from KRW 12.76 billion in 2022 to KRW 86.90 billion in 2025, with the full-year consolidation of AP Satellite driving a large step-up in 2024 (KRW 68.98 billion) and 2025 (KRW 86.90 billion).
Operating profit remained negative throughout, and the 2025 operating loss of KRW 16.17 billion actually widened from KRW 12.19 billion in 2024.
The operating margin improved sharply in percentage terms, from -63.1% in 2023 to -17.7% in 2024 and -18.6% in 2025, as revenue scaled up, though the absolute loss did not shrink.
On a quarterly basis, the operating loss narrowed from KRW 5.02 billion on revenue of KRW 15.20 billion in Q3 2025 to KRW 0.66 billion on revenue of KRW 26.34 billion in Q4 2025, and net income attributable to owners swung to a gain of KRW 4.66 billion.
That positive trend in owners' net income continued into Q1 2026 (revenue KRW 18.22 billion, operating loss KRW 2.44 billion, net income of KRW 0.74 billion) and Q2 2026 (revenue KRW 17.98 billion, operating loss KRW 6.80 billion, net income of KRW 6.61 billion), even as the operating loss widened again in the second quarter.
This creates a clear gap between owners' net income and operating profit, likely reflecting non-operating items and the allocation of losses to non-controlling interests, suggesting the company has not yet reached a stage of consistent profitability from core operations alone.
Over the most recent four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026), cumulative net income attributable to owners totaled KRW 8.90 billion, marking a shift from the prior pattern of annual losses.
Operating cash flow was positive in 2022 (KRW 3.31 billion) and 2024 (KRW 1.85 billion) but negative in 2023 (-KRW 6.07 billion) and 2025 (-KRW 0.78 billion), showing no clear directional trend.
Owners' equity swung from a capital-deficient -KRW 30.93 billion in 2022 to KRW 109.66 billion following the 2023 KOSDAQ listing, then declined each year on accumulated losses to KRW 83.31 billion in 2025.
Globally, the expansion of private low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellations by companies such as SpaceX and OneWeb, along with rising smallsat launches, is increasing demand for both ground station networks that download satellite data and the data processing that follows.
In Korea, the 2024 launch of the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) was accompanied by a government budget of more than KRW 1.5 trillion reportedly allocated through 2027, alongside a growing trend of smallsat and communication satellite launches.
Internationally, expanded outsourcing of commercial satellite work by NASA, ESA's multinational co-development frameworks, and rising satellite infrastructure demand in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia are proceeding in parallel.
Korea's satellite imagery and data service market is viewed as an oligopoly centered on Contec and Satrec Initiative, and Contec is considered one of the few domestic operators spanning both downstream (ground stations, data) and, since its acquisition of AP Satellite, upstream (satellite manufacturing) segments.
Ground station services carry strong national-infrastructure characteristics, often leading to long-term retention of the same supplier, and Contec's decade-plus relationship with KARI is being leveraged to build credibility with overseas satellite operators.
There is also an observable trend of countries with their own space bases, such as Kazakhstan, expanding independent satellite operations and global partnerships.
In February 2026, Contec won a ground system maintenance contract from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and in March it signed a contract with the Public Procurement Service for an overseas ground station service supporting military reconnaissance satellites.
In June, at an international space summit, it secured a follow-on contract from a Kazakhstan state-funded research institute for a project first signed at the end of the prior year, marking a repeat award from the same client within six months and bringing its total Kazakhstan projects to three.
The company is also confirmed to have been selected as the multi-ground-station operator for KAIST's Active Control Demonstration Satellite project.
In a January 2026 report, Hana Securities stated that Contec was operating 16 ground stations across 11 countries with plans to add four more sites in North America and Europe, and that it had secured contracts with more than roughly 100 government and private satellite clients at home and abroad.
In a February 2026 report, KB Securities framed downstream growth in ground station maintenance (MRO) and GSaaS market expansion, together with upstream new orders and mass-production conversion, as the two pillars expected to drive top-line growth through 2026.
However, actual 2025 consolidated revenue of KRW 86.90 billion came in below the more-than-KRW-100-billion forecasts circulating in the market through mid-2025, a shortfall that has been attributed in part to delays in the upstream segment's participation in public satellite development programs.
How in-house antenna production at subsidiary TXSpace and new satellite-terminal customer wins at AP Satellite flow into future revenue recognition remains a point to watch.
Because Contec posted consecutive losses for an extended period, calculating a meaningful price-to-earnings ratio was difficult for much of that time, but the recent swing to positive net income attributable to owners over the most recent four quarters has made the metric calculable again.
The price-to-book ratio varies depending on the calculation basis, ranging from a level close to net asset value to one carrying a modest premium, a difference that stems from divergent methodologies between an independently derived calculation and the figure published by the exchange.
The company currently pays no dividend, which limits any approach based on dividend yield.
Looking at the multi-year earnings pattern, consolidated results remained in the red, but quarterly net income attributable to owners has recently shifted from loss to profit, and whether that direction persists is likely to be a central variable in future valuation discussions.
Given that market assessment of this small-cap growth stock has historically been sensitive to news flow and order announcements, upcoming earnings releases and major contract disclosures are likely to remain central to how the stock is discussed.
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
Net income attributable to owners has been positive for three straight quarters from Q4 2025 through Q2 2026, and the trailing four-quarter total also came to a KRW 8.90 billion gain. This marks a departure from the prior pattern of annual losses, though whether it persists will need to be confirmed in coming quarters.
The AP Satellite acquisition brought satellite manufacturing together with ground station and data services, which has been cited as a basis for cost savings and expanded turnkey business.
In-house antenna production at subsidiary TXSpace is also mentioned as a factor supporting cost competitiveness, though the timing and scale of realized synergies remain variables to monitor.
New and follow-on contracts with KARI, the Public Procurement Service, a Kazakhstan state research institute, and KAIST have continued, including a repeat award from the same Kazakhstan client within six months. Contracts tied to national infrastructure are seen as carrying relatively high business continuity.
The 2025 consolidated operating loss of KRW 16.17 billion actually widened from KRW 12.19 billion in 2024, and the Q2 2026 operating loss of KRW 6.80 billion also widened from KRW 2.44 billion in the prior quarter. Despite revenue growth, the absolute loss has not shrunk, highlighting an ongoing cost-structure challenge.
Net income attributable to owners was positive for the last three quarters, yet operating profit remained negative over the same period.
Because the net income gains appear to stem substantially from non-operating items or the allocation of losses to non-controlling interests, it is difficult to conclude that core-business profitability has improved.
Quarterly revenue has ranged widely from KRW 15.2 billion to KRW 26.6 billion, and the timing of revenue recognition can shift by quarter depending on project progress.
Owners' equity has declined each year, from KRW 109.66 billion in 2023 to KRW 83.31 billion in 2025, showing that accumulated losses continue to erode capital.
A significant portion of revenue is tied to government and public-sector orders and policy budgets, and delays in public satellite development programs have already affected revenue recognition in practice. The pace of KASA budget execution or shifts in policy direction could directly affect results.
In 2022 the company was in a capital-deficient state with negative total equity; this improved after listing, but accumulated losses have reduced owners' equity every year since. Operating cash flow has also been unstable, turning negative in both 2023 and 2025, leaving a persistent need for external financing.
As a small-cap growth stock, share price volatility tied to order and policy news has been observed on multiple occasions. Prior market revenue forecasts have diverged from actual results, so a recurrence of gaps between estimates and outcomes cannot be ruled out.
Check the Q3 2026 consolidated earnings disclosure — whether operating profit turns positive and whether the streak of positive owners' net income extends beyond four quarters.
Monitor progress on antenna mass production and revenue recognition at subsidiary TXSpace, with the key question being whether cost savings translate into actual margin improvement.
Confirm whether large overseas projects referenced in Central Asia and Southeast Asia — targeted as sizable single-contract wins — are actually signed.
Track progress on planned GSaaS network expansion (additional sites in North America and Europe) and the utilization rate of newly built ground stations.
Check how much revenue is actually recognized from AP Satellite's new satellite-terminal customer, and assess the upstream segment's contribution to overall revenue.
Contec is broadening its space-industry value chain from ground station construction, GSaaS, and satellite imagery data processing to satellite manufacturing following its acquisition of AP Satellite.
Consolidated revenue has grown substantially over four years, but operating profit remains negative and the loss actually widened in 2025.
In contrast, net income attributable to owners has shown a different pattern, posting gains for three consecutive quarters since Q4 2025, a result that appears to reflect non-operating factors to a significant degree and should be viewed separately from core-business profitability.
Contracts with KARI, the Public Procurement Service, Kazakhstan, and KAIST continue to expand the order base, and industry tailwinds exist in the form of expanding government space policy budgets and rising private satellite launches.
Still, points warranting attention include past instances where actual revenue fell short of market forecasts, a steady decline in owners' equity, and quarter-to-quarter revenue volatility.
Key items to watch going forward are whether operating profit achieves a genuine turnaround and whether the large overseas projects under discussion are actually signed.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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