SK Gas (018670.KS) Q1 2026: Operating Profit Doubles to ₩228B as LPG Spike and PDH Arm Drive Portfolio Shift
Geopolitical LPG tailwinds and a ramping power station doubled operating profit, but the quarter's real story is the consolidation of a PDH petrochemical subsidiary and a ₩1.22 trillion divestiture that together redrew the company's asset map.
Source: Quarterly Report (분기보고서) — Filed May 15, 2026 with DART | Consolidated Financial Statements | Unit: ₩ billions
SK Gas delivered Q1 2026 operating profit of ₩227.69 billion, double the year-ago figure, as a geopolitically-driven LPG price surge — traced in the company's own disclosures to rising U.S.–Iran military tensions that escalated into armed conflict in June — widened trading spreads and lifted overseas export volumes approximately 52% year-on-year. Revenue advanced 44.2% to ₩2.64 trillion, and net profit surged 188.5% to ₩267.35 billion, though the headline net figure is materially inflated by ₩159.72 billion in net derivative income, the bulk of which represents unrealized fair-value marks that remain exposed to reversal if LPG prices retrace. Beneath the income statement, two structural transactions quietly redrew the balance sheet during the quarter: SK Gas consolidated SK Advanced Co., Ltd. — a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) petrochemical producer that has long been a primary LPG customer — as a new subsidiary, extending the value chain from feedstock supply into downstream chemical production; and it agreed, in an event reported after quarter-end, to divest 49.0% of power generation subsidiary Ulsan GPS for approximately ₩1.22 trillion, monetizing a recently-ramped asset to fund the next investment cycle. Q1's ₩227.69 billion operating profit already equals 51% of full-year FY2025 — a pace that reflects both a favorable cyclical setup and the structural lift from Ulsan GPS reaching full commercial operations.
