KEPCO's H1 2025 Operating Profit Rises 131% to 5.9 Trillion Won as Q2 Net Income Jumps More Than Tenfold
Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), the state-run electric utility of South Korea, posted an operating profit of 5.9 trillion won in the first half of 2025, up 131% year on year, with sales rising 5.5% to 46.2 trillion won. In the second quarter alone, net profit reached 1.17 trillion won (about US$846.5 million), a 928.1% jump from a year earlier, as stable fuel prices, tariff adjustments and cost cuts lifted the result, according to a regulatory filing reported on August 12, 2025.
H1 2025: operating profit of 5.9 trillion won, up 131%
SEOUL, August 12, 2025 — Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), headquartered in Naju, about 320 kilometers south of Seoul, reported its results for the second quarter and the first half of 2025 in a regulatory filing. The details were published by Yonhap News Agency in the article KEPCO Q2 net spikes over tenfold on fuel price stability, cost cuts. The key reported figures are as follows:
- first-half operating profit — 5.9 trillion won, up 131% year on year;
- first-half revenue — 46.2 trillion won, up 5.5% year on year;
- second-quarter net profit — 1.17 trillion won (US$846.5 million), up 928.1% year on year;
- second-quarter operating profit — 2.13 trillion won, up 70.8% year on year;
- second-quarter revenue — 21.95 trillion won, up 7.2% year on year.
The April–June quarter marked the eighth consecutive period in which the company posted an operating profit. The earnings also beat market expectations: the average estimate of second-quarter net profit by analysts stood at 1.12 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.
What drove the tenfold jump in quarterly net profit
The company attributed the strong results to increased revenue from recent price adjustments, the stabilization of fuel costs and internal cost-cutting efforts. Three elements stand behind the second-quarter surge:
Tariffs, fuel prices and cost discipline
- electricity price adjustments: in the first six months of 2025 the average selling price of electricity climbed 5.7% after the government raised industrial rates by 9.7% in October; the adjustment added 2.45 trillion won to profit from electricity sales despite a 0.05% decrease in sales volume;
- fuel-cost stabilization: a drop in global oil prices reduced the expense side of the balance, which had weighed on the utility in earlier years;
- cost cuts: KEPCO and its affiliates trimmed a combined 2.3 trillion won of operating costs in the first half by carrying out their plans to improve fiscal soundness.
Higher tariffs improved the revenue line, steadier fuel prices eased costs, and internal savings added a further cushion. Together these drivers pushed quarterly net income more than tenfold above the year-earlier level, to 1.17 trillion won, and lifted first-half operating profit by 131%.
Outlook: funding new energy projects and a next-generation power grid
Looking ahead, KEPCO said it plans to respond "preemptively" to possible volatility in currency exchange rates and international fuel prices, while further implementing measures to improve its financial soundness, in order to secure funding for the country's new energy projects.
The policy backdrop adds a second layer to the outlook. The Lee Jae Myung government has called for building a next-generation power grid that connects the whole country, responding to soaring power demand sparked by the growth of artificial intelligence and advanced industries. For the utility, whose eighth consecutive quarterly operating profit now provides a steadier earnings base, grid investment and fiscal-soundness work are set to run in parallel: the first-half result of 5.9 trillion won in operating profit on 46.2 trillion won of sales is the financial position from which the company enters this agenda.
Company information
Company: Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO)
Contacts: KEPCO Communications, Naju/Seoul; media enquiries via the company website
Company website: https://home.kepco.co.kr/
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