Dae-san Nephcorehas unveiled plans to leap into a global navigation and anti-jamming (radio interference prevention) company through its KOSDAQ listing. Having overcome the hurdle of dual listing with support from general shareholders of its parent company, attention now turns on whether it can establish itself in the stock market amid the winds of defense and aerospace industries.
Hwang Tae-ho, CEO of Dae-san Nephcore, said at a press conference held at Yeouido Conrad Hotel on the 14th, "Our vision is to strengthen our defense business while pursuing new growth drivers through space development, evolving from Korea's No. 1 total solution provider in navigation and anti-jamming into a global leader in the world market."
Dae-san Nephcore was launched as Nepcore in 2012 and, the following year, inherited Han Yang Navicom's defense business to develop and produce navigation and anti-jamming equipment. In 2021, Dae-san Hi-Metal acquired a majority stake, changing the company name to Dae-san Nephcore. The Dae-san Group is structured with unlisted Dae-san Holdings at the top, listing subsidiary Dae-san Hi-Metal below it, and grand-subsidiary Dae-san Nephcore further down.
Last November, while awaiting the results of its listing review application, the company faced financial authorities' "principle prohibition of dual listings with exceptions allowed" guidelines, at one point casting uncertainty over its listing prospects. However, after Dae-san Hi-Metal launched efforts to persuade general shareholders through a cash dividend plan based on its stake in Dae-san Nephcore and secured a special resolution at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, the listing process returned to track. The Korea Exchange approved the preliminary review in July this year.
Last year's performance showed sales of 48.5 billion won and operating profit of 4.1 billion won, representing increases of 7.2% and 103.6%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Sales by customer accounted for 34% from Hanwha Aerospace, 33% from LIG Defense & Aerospace, and 15% from Hyundai Rotem. The company also supplied satellite navigation receivers for the first through fifth launches of Korea's Nuri rocket.
Dae-san Nephcore explained that it is the only specialized domestic enterprise providing design, development, production, and testing, having secured core technologies in all areas of navigation including satellite, inertial, and integrated navigation as well as anti-jamming. It has also accumulated performance records across operational environments ranging from ground systems, guided weapons, drones, aircraft, launch vehicles, to satellites.
Regarding future business directions, the company highlighted expansion of its defense business in Yangsan and diversification of its product lineup. Plans include improving the performance of existing products mounted on Cheonmu missiles, developing ballistic correction fuses for artillery shells, and launching search signal processing units for Long-Range Artillery Interception Systems (LAMD), anti-drone jamming and deception solutions, and medium-altitude unmanned aircraft data links. The company announced that 20.3 billion won of the public offering amount will be invested in production facilities, while 16.4 billion won will go toward research and development (R&D).
The securities industry cited technological capabilities, the unique lock-in effect in the defense sector, and expectations for expanding global weapons demand due to international geopolitical developments as key investment points. Market research firm ResearchAndMarkets previously announced 20 global companies in the anti-jamming field and introduced Dae-san Nephcore as the only Asian company among them. Weaknesses cited include dependence on major customers.
Park Jong-seon, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, stated, "As weapon systems evolve toward precision strike capabilities and the trend of battlefield unmannedization accelerates, the importance of navigation and anti-jamming is expanding. Additionally, with the explosive growth of the satellite market and the full-scale launch of national space projects, growth in the space navigation market is also expected." He added, "Notably, Dae-san Nephcore became the first domestic company to achieve Gold Grade certification for Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PBA) under the global aerospace and defense quality standard NADCAP."
Lee Sang-yeop, a researcher at Mint Investment Advisory, said, "Medium-to-long-term performance assumes that currently in development projects will be successfully transferred to Yangsan as planned." He noted, "While 2028 sales are estimated at 115.4 billion won, among the 130th target projects for revenue recognition, 86 are still in the pre-Yangsan transfer stage. If defense budget adjustments occur, test evaluations are delayed, or deployment schedules change, there is a possibility that both the timing of revenue recognition and estimated performance could be deferred."
Some voices have also raised concerns about overhang risks (potential large-scale selling) immediately after listing. Post-listing tradable share ratios are projected as follows: 40.2% on the listing day, 40.4% one month later, 47.0% three months later, 48.9% one year later, and 100% three years later.
Dae-san Nephcore plans to offer 3 million shares out of its total 18.876041 million shares scheduled for listing. Based on the desired offering price range of 12,400 to 14,600 won per share, the planned offering amount is estimated at 37.2 billion to 43.8 billion won, with an expected market capitalization of 234.1 billion to 275.6 billion won. Demand forecasting opened on the 8th and concluded today, with general housing subscriptions scheduled to begin on the 16th and 17th. The listing is set for the 30th of this month, with Daishin Securities serving as the lead underwriter.
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