Operating margins have fluctuated significantly between 5.6% and 20.6% over the last ten quarters, reflecting the inherent instability of a business model dependent on periodic regulatory tariff adjustments.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 |
|---|
| Revenue | 72.36T | 96.57T | 93.4T | 87.48T | 70.55T | 60.01T | 57.93T | 59.17T | 60.63T | 59.81T | 60.19T | 58.96T | 57.47T | 54.04T | 49.42T | 43.53T | 39.43T | 33.69T | 31.56T | 29.15T | 26.14T | 25.25T | 23.14T | 23.88T | 21.36T |
| Revenue Growth % | -22.62% | 3.39% | 6.77% | 24% | 17.55% | 3.6% | -2.11% | -2.4% | 1.36% | -0.62% | 2.09% | 2.58% | 6.36% | 9.34% | 13.53% | 10.42% | 17.04% | 6.74% | 8.25% | 11.51% | 3.54% | 9.1% | -3.1% | 11.79% | - |
| Cost of Revenue | 60.96T | 80.7T | 82.17T | 89.7T | 100.9T | 63.64T | 51.8T | 57.78T | 58.21T | 52.1T | 45.55T | 45.46T | 49.76T | 50.6T | 48.46T | 43.08T | 34.57T | 29.5T | 31.54T | 24.44T | 1.98T | 1.76T | 1.36T | 1.45T | 1.21T |
| Gross Profit | 11.4T | 15.86T | 11.23T | -2.22T | -30.36T | -3.63T | 6.12T | 1.39T | 2.42T | 7.72T | 14.64T | 13.5T | 7.71T | 3.44T | 962.25B | 450.32B | 4.86T | 646.95B | 24.68B | 26.57T | 24.17T | 23.49T | 21.78T | 22.43T | 20.16T |
| Gross Margin % | 15.75% | 16.43% | 12.02% | -2.54% | -43.03% | -6.05% | 10.57% | 2.35% | 3.99% | 12.9% | 24.32% | 22.9% | 13.42% | 6.37% | 1.95% | 1.03% | 12.32% | 1.92% | 0.08% | 91.13% | 92.44% | 93.03% | 94.11% | 93.92% | 94.35% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | 41.28% | 605.04% | 92.68% | -735.86% | -159.32% | 339.5% | -42.43% | -68.64% | -47.3% | 8.45% | 75.05% | 124.04% | 257.72% | 113.68% | -90.73% | 650.85% | 2521.46% | -99.91% | 9.94% | 2.88% | 7.85% | -2.9% | 11.28% | - |
| Operating Expenses | 1.6T | 2.29T | 2.86T | 2.02T | 1.88T | 2.09T | 2.02T | 2.5T | 2.51T | 1.92T | 1.92T | -7.16T | 1.15T | 1.17T | 2.96T | 1.14T | 3.28T | 2.78T | 2.82T | 1.87T | 20.82T | 19.6T | 17.46T | 16.95T | 15.01T |
| Other Operating Expenses | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| EBITDA | 20.06T | 27.36T | 21.71T | 8.79T | -19.78T | 6.22T | 15.65T | 9.42T | 9.34T | 14.73T | 20.96T | 19.69T | 13.66T | 8.91T | 6.18T | 6.19T | 8.96T | 8.03T | 3.43T | 8.66T | 8.82T | 9.7T | 9.58T | 10.81T | 10.31T |
| EBITDA Margin % | 27.72% | 28.33% | 23.24% | 10.05% | -28.04% | 10.36% | 27.01% | 15.92% | 15.4% | 24.62% | 34.83% | 33.39% | 23.77% | 16.49% | 12.5% | 14.22% | 22.72% | 23.85% | 10.88% | 29.69% | 33.75% | 38.4% | 41.39% | 45.28% | 48.26% |
| EBITDA Growth % | -19.28% | 26.02% | 147.06% | 144.43% | -418.02% | -60.25% | 66.04% | 0.9% | -36.58% | -29.75% | 6.47% | 44.12% | 53.3% | 44.22% | -0.22% | -30.86% | 11.49% | 133.87% | -60.32% | -1.88% | -9% | 1.2% | -11.42% | 4.88% | - |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 10.26T | 13.79T | 13.35T | 13.03T | 12.46T | 11.94T | 11.55T | 11.13T | 10.02T | 9.77T | 8.96T | 8.34T | 7.87T | 7.39T | 7T | 6.88T | 6.7T | 6.32T | 6.23T | 5.83T | 5.48T | 5.8T | 5.26T | 5.34T | 5.16T |
| D&A / Revenue % | 14.18% | 14.28% | 14.29% | 14.9% | 17.66% | 19.9% | 19.94% | 18.81% | 16.53% | 16.34% | 14.89% | 14.15% | 13.7% | 13.68% | 14.16% | 15.8% | 16.99% | 18.76% | 19.75% | 20.01% | 20.96% | 22.98% | 22.74% | 22.34% | 24.16% |
| Operating Income (EBIT) | 9.8T | 13.57T | 8.36T | -4.25T | -32.24T | -5.72T | 4.1T | -1.71T | -685.11B | 4.95T | 12T | 11.35T | 5.79T | 1.52T | -817.92B | -684.96B | 2.26T | 1.71T | -2.8T | 2.82T | 3.34T | 3.89T | 4.32T | 5.48T | 5.15T |
| Operating Margin % | 13.55% | 14.05% | 8.96% | -4.85% | -45.7% | -9.54% | 7.07% | -2.89% | -1.13% | 8.28% | 19.94% | 19.25% | 10.07% | 2.81% | -1.65% | -1.57% | 5.73% | 5.09% | -8.87% | 9.68% | 12.79% | 15.42% | 18.65% | 22.94% | 24.1% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 62.24% | 297.05% | 86.83% | -463.35% | -239.66% | 339.99% | -149.23% | -113.83% | -58.73% | 5.77% | 96.05% | 281.02% | 285.71% | -19.41% | -130.31% | 31.79% | 161.29% | -199.11% | -15.55% | -14.11% | -9.82% | -21.21% | 6.39% | - |
| Interest Expense | 4M | 4.34T | 4.67T | 4.45T | 2.82T | 1.91T | 2T | 2.05T | 1.87T | 3.13T | 1.75T | 2.02T | 2.35T | 2.38T | 2.34T | 2.12T | 2.05T | 1.58T | 1T | 737.54B | 668.48B | 637.55B | 712.82B | 870.12B | 1.02T |
| Interest Coverage | - | 3.67x | 1.79x | -0.70x | -11.01x | -2.69x | 2.50x | -0.60x | -0.07x | 1.73x | 7.01x | 10.26x | 2.80x | 0.83x | -0.73x | -0.16x | 1.18x | 1.20x | -2.84x | 4.24x | 5.00x | 6.10x | 6.05x | 6.30x | 5.07x |
| Interest / Revenue % | 0% | 4.49% | 4.99% | 5.09% | 4% | 3.19% | 3.44% | 3.46% | 3.08% | 5.23% | 2.91% | 3.42% | 4.09% | 4.41% | 4.74% | 4.88% | 5.19% | 4.7% | 3.17% | 2.53% | 2.56% | 2.53% | 3.08% | 3.64% | 4.76% |
| Non-Operating Income | -4M | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | 1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | -1000K | 1000K | -1000K | 1000K |
| Pretax Income | 8.36T | 11.59T | 5.26T | -7.55T | -33.84T | -7.07T | 2.99T | -3.27T | -2T | 3.61T | 10.51T | 18.66T | 4.23T | -396.49B | -4.06T | -2.47T | 369.61B | 322.41B | -3.84T | 2.39T | 3.21T | 3.78T | 4.52T | 4.29T | 5.15T |
| Pretax Margin % | 11.55% | 12% | 5.63% | -8.64% | -47.97% | -11.78% | 5.17% | -5.52% | -3.3% | 6.04% | 17.47% | 31.64% | 7.36% | -0.73% | -8.22% | -5.68% | 0.94% | 0.96% | -12.18% | 8.21% | 12.29% | 14.96% | 19.53% | 17.94% | 24.11% |
| Income Tax | 2.05T | 2.92T | 1.63T | -2.84T | -9.41T | -1.86T | 899.06B | -1T | -826.32B | 2.17T | 3.37T | 5.24T | 1.43T | -570.79B | -985.38B | 819.87B | 438.78B | 370.14B | -929.56B | 926.69B | 1.09T | 1.39T | 1.73T | 1.85T | 2.1T |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 24.54% | 25.2% | 31.1% | 37.57% | 27.82% | 26.25% | 30.04% | 30.69% | 41.3% | 60.12% | 32.01% | 28.08% | 33.82% | 143.96% | 24.25% | -33.15% | 118.71% | 114.8% | 24.18% | 38.72% | 33.94% | 36.76% | 38.38% | 43.15% | 40.84% |
| Net Income | 6.22T | 8.54T | 3.49T | -4.82T | -24.47T | -5.3T | 1.99T | -2.35T | -1.31T | 1.3T | 7.05T | 13.29T | 2.69T | 60.01B | -3.17T | -3.37T | -119.93B | -96.72B | -2.96T | 1.43T | 2.12T | 2.39T | 2.78T | 2.44T | 3.05T |
| Net Margin % | 8.59% | 8.85% | 3.74% | -5.51% | -34.68% | -8.84% | 3.44% | -3.96% | -2.17% | 2.17% | 11.71% | 22.54% | 4.67% | 0.11% | -6.41% | -7.74% | -0.3% | -0.29% | -9.36% | 4.9% | 8.12% | 9.46% | 12.03% | 10.2% | 14.27% |
| Net Income Growth % | 18.26% | 144.72% | 172.4% | 80.29% | -361.25% | -366.28% | 184.93% | -78.43% | -201.22% | -81.57% | -46.96% | 394.59% | 4377.3% | 101.9% | 6.05% | -2710.34% | -24% | 96.73% | -307.06% | -32.77% | -11.15% | -14.2% | 14.3% | -20.06% | - |
| EPS (Diluted) | 4793.23 | 6711.00 | 2719.55 | -3756.09 | -19026.85 | -4131.50 | 1550.98 | -1827.00 | -1024.00 | 1011.50 | 5489.50 | 10350.50 | 2145.00 | 48.00 | -2541.50 | -2525.24 | -58.00 | -62.50 | -2373.24 | 1113.89 | 1614.85 | 1867.47 | 2178.53 | 1928.95 | 2385.38 |
| EPS Growth % | 65.43% | 146.77% | 172.4% | 80.26% | -360.53% | -366.38% | 184.89% | -78.42% | -201.24% | -81.57% | -46.96% | 382.54% | 4368.75% | 101.89% | -0.64% | -4253.86% | 7.2% | 97.37% | -313.06% | -31.02% | -13.53% | -14.28% | 12.94% | -19.13% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 6711.00 | 2719.55 | -3756.09 | -19026.85 | -4131.48 | 1550.98 | -1827.00 | -1024.00 | 1011.52 | 5489.50 | 10350.50 | 2145.00 | 48.00 | -2541.50 | -2525.24 | -58.00 | -62.50 | -2373.24 | 1147.84 | 1663.66 | 1880.50 | 2210.41 | 1933.67 | 2385.38 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 1.3B | 1.3B | 1.28B | 1.28B | 1.28B | 1.28B | 1.28B | 1.28B | 1.28B | 1.28B | 1.28B | 1.28B | 1.25B | 1.25B | 1.25B | 1.28B | 1.24B | 1.24B | 1.25B | 1.28B | 1.31B | 1.28B | 1.28B | 1.26B | 1.28B |
High regulatory and commodity price sensitivity
As reported in recent financial statements, KEP’s revenue trajectory remains heavily dependent on government-sanctioned tariff adjustments, with quarterly figures fluctuating between 20.5T KRW and 27.6T KRW, suggesting that organic volume growth is secondary to the political willingness to pass through systemic energy costs to the end consumer.
Revenue growth appears to be a function of periodic tariff resets rather than underlying demand expansion, which remains sensitive to industrial cycles. The lack of a consistent, automatic pass-through mechanism implies that revenue durability is structurally compromised by the potential for government-mandated price freezes during inflationary periods.
Based on KEP’s reported figures, operating margins have oscillated significantly from 5.6% to 20.6% over the last ten quarters, indicating that the utility frequently fails to earn its authorized return due to the inherent regulatory lag between rising fuel input costs and the subsequent adjustment of retail electricity tariffs.
The wide variance in operating margins suggests that KEP acts as a shock absorber for the South Korean economy rather than a traditional utility earning a stable return on rate base. Investors should monitor whether the recent margin recovery to 14.05% is sustainable or merely a temporary reprieve from commodity price volatility.
According to recent SEC filings, KEP’s reliance on imported LNG and coal creates a persistent working capital strain, as the company must absorb global commodity price spikes before receiving regulatory approval to recover these costs, a dynamic that obscures the true underlying earnings power of the regulated utility.
The absence of a fully automatic adjustment mechanism forces the company to rely on debt financing to bridge the gap between cost incurrence and revenue recovery. This structure effectively shifts the burden of commodity price risk onto the balance sheet, potentially leading to liquidity pressures during periods of sustained global energy inflation.
As indicated by the dramatic swings in quarterly EPS, ranging from 50.63 to 2925.40, KEP’s reported earnings are heavily distorted by non-recurring regulatory settlements and deferred cost recovery, making it difficult to discern the company's sustainable regulated earnings power from its periodic accounting adjustments.
The high volatility in net income suggests that reported EPS is an unreliable proxy for long-term value creation. Analysts should focus on the structural shift toward nuclear baseload generation as a potential catalyst for stabilizing earnings, provided that regulatory authorities allow for a more predictable return on invested capital.
Based on the provided financial data, KEP’s massive depreciation charges, consistently exceeding 3T KRW per quarter, highlight the extreme capital intensity required to maintain its grid and generation assets, which often outpaces the incremental earnings generated from new infrastructure investments in the current regulatory environment.
The company’s heavy investment in nuclear and grid infrastructure appears to be a long-term necessity for national energy security rather than a direct driver of near-term EPS growth. Without a commensurate increase in authorized ROE, this capital expenditure cycle may continue to pressure free cash flow and necessitate further debt issuance.
Analysis of KEP’s financial statements suggests that the reported debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70% may significantly understate the company's true leverage, potentially masking the accumulation of unrecovered fuel costs and future decommissioning liabilities that are not yet fully reflected in the current income statement or balance sheet.
The reliance on debt to fund operations during periods of suppressed tariffs creates a structural vulnerability that the income statement fails to capture. Investors should be wary of the risk that future rate cases may be used to address these accumulated deficits rather than to provide a fair return on equity for shareholders.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying KEP stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEP) reported total revenue of $96.57T. This represents a 352.0% increase compared to $21.36T in 2002.
Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEP) is profitable, generating $8.54T in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 8.8%.
Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEP) reported an operating income of $13.57T, resulting in an operating profit margin of 14.1%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEP) generated $15.86T in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 16.4%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.