[Edaily Marketin, Reporter Kim Yeon-seo] The credit rating outlook for general construction firm #Hanshin Engineering & Construction (BBB) has been revised to “positive,” increasing the likelihood of a credit rating upgrade.
On the 18th, Korea Ratings announced that it had maintained Hanshin Engineering & Construction’s credit rating for unsecured bonds at ‘BBB’ and changed the outlook from ‘Stable’ to ‘Positive.’

Korea Ratings assessed that Hanshin Engineering & Construction continues to show improving profitability despite a reduction in business scale. As the scale of its housing business shrank due to the completion of its major in-house project, Pohang Pentacity, and a shift toward selective project launches, consolidated revenue last year fell 22.9% year-over-year to 1.1492 trillion won. However, the EBIT margin (EBIT/revenue) rose 3.1 percentage points from the previous year to 5.6%.

This trend continued into the first quarter of this year. Although first-quarter consolidated revenue fell 17.1% year-over-year to 252.4 billion won, the EBIT margin improved by 2.3 percentage points to 7.7%. Factors contributing to the improved profitability included the completion of profitable housing projects, reduced promotional expenses due to stable pre-sale rates, and a decrease in selling, general, and administrative expenses.

Financial burdens were also alleviated. Hanshin Engineering & Construction sequentially sold its stakes in heavily indebted subsidiaries. Following the sale of its stake in Seogyo PFV in 2024, the company sold its stake in Hanshin Brain City PFV in 2025. As a result, net debt on a consolidated basis as of the end of March this year stood at 5080억원, a decrease of 3039억원 compared to the end of 2023. The debt-to-equity ratio and debt dependency ratio improved to 162.1% and 32.9%, respectively.

Korea Ratings projected that the trend of financial restructuring would continue, supported by solid profit-generating capacity. As of the end of March 2026, the order backlog stood at 6.9 trillion won, securing a medium- to long-term revenue base. Analysts suggest that, considering the progress on ongoing projects and the transition to construction in areas such as the Changwon Hoewon 2 District and the Cheongju Samo 2 District, a gradual recovery in revenue scale is possible starting in 2027.

Park Chan-bo, a senior researcher at Korea Corporate Rating, stated, “Considering the profitability of ongoing housing projects and stabilized pre-sales rates, we believe the company can maintain an EBITDA margin of around 8%.” He added, “However, we need to monitor the pre-sales performance of planned projects, the level of control over selling, general, and administrative expenses, and whether the existing order backlog can be smoothly converted into construction starts.”