Korea Carbon (017960.KS) Q1 2026: Margin Surges to 19.4% but ₩52.6B Finance Hit Sinks Net Profit 29%
LNG insulation margins reach a structural high while convertible bond-linked non-cash losses and forex hedge write-downs overwhelm a 32% operating profit gain
Source: 43rd Fiscal Year Q1 Report — Filed May 14, 2026 with DART | Consolidated Financial Statements | Unit: ₩ billions
Korea Carbon delivered one of its strongest operating quarters on record in Q1 2026, expanding its operating margin to 19.4% from 13.9% a year earlier even as revenue contracted 5.7% to ₩211.8 billion — a result that reveals the full margin power of its LNG cargo hold insulation franchise. Operating profit reached ₩41.1 billion (+32.0%), driven by a mix shift toward high-value industrial materials and the first commercial delivery volumes under Hanwha Ocean's newly adopted NO96-SUPER+ insulation system. Yet net income fell sharply to ₩15.5 billion (-29.0%), overwhelmed by total finance costs of ₩52.6 billion — 6.5 times the ₩8.1 billion recorded in Q1 2025 — as derivative revaluation losses linked to a rising stock price and forward exchange contract mark-to-market losses combined to erase most of the operating gains. With an LNG cargo hold panel backlog of USD 1,204 million (approximately ₩1.6 trillion), roughly 1.9 years of annualized industrial revenue is already locked in, setting a firm floor under the company's near-term earnings trajectory.
