This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:23 p.m. on May 6, 2026.
Battery equipment maker Hana Technology has been hit again by the bad news of a canceled large supply contract. This time, it also faced a wave of early redemption demands from convertible bond (CB) investors. Coincidentally, CB investors moved to demand principal repayment alongside the disclosure of the contract cancellation, suggesting they judged it would be hard for the share price to rise for the time being.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 6th, Hana Technology disclosed on the 4th that the contract to supply "mass-production equipment for high-speed stacking of secondary batteries," signed with a North American secondary battery corporations, was terminated. Of the contract initially valued at about 28 billion won, revenue of about 20.6 billion won is expected to be canceled, excluding the advance payment without refund obligations.
The contract canceled this time was for equipment delivery signed in Mar. last year. The reason for termination was at the counterparty's request. However, about 7 billion won in advance payment will be retained by Hana Technology, so the loss from the termination does not appear fatal to the business. According to last year's annual report, Hana Technology's order backlog stands at about 326.2 billion won, leaving some cushion.
The problem is that the market is not taking this disclosure as a simple contract termination. Hana Technology already has a history of controversy over a canceled contract.
Hana Technology drew market attention when it disclosed in 2023 that it had signed a secondary battery equipment supply contract worth about 172.4 billion won with a Chinese corporations. The deal size at the time exceeded 1.5 times its annual revenue. Fueled by the secondary battery investment boom, the share price soared, and expectations spread in the market for an "ultra-large order." After the disclosure, CB investors took advantage of the surge to convert to shares one after another, successfully locking in investment gains.
But a year later the situation flipped. The counterparty's funding problems surfaced, and the contract was ultimately terminated in Jun. 2024. The stock, which had jumped on hopes for the large order, gave back its gains. Unlike CB investors who booked hefty profits, most retail investors who bought on the order news likely suffered significant losses.
In Jul. that year, Hana Technology was designated as a company with inaccurate disclosures by the Korea Exchange (KRX) and was given 7.5 penalty points. Later, Britishvolt in the U.K., with which it had signed a contract worth about 90 billion won, entered court receivership, and the contract was canceled again.
Hana Technology said, "After the large contract cancellation in the past, we established a bid review council and have been proceeding with contracts through thorough due diligence on clients," adding, "It is very regrettable, as this also occurred despite sufficient verification."
Since then, up to recently, it had appeared to improve business viability by signing new contracts and narrowing losses, but the market is reacting sensitively again after an abrupt cancellation. In particular, this time the contract cancellation coincided with moves by CB investors.
Hana Technology disclosed on the 30th of last month that it received early redemption claims for 29.1 billion won of its third CB. That is close to half of the 60 billion won CB issued in 2024.
At the time, Hana Technology succeeded in issuing a "zero-interest CB" with both the coupon rate and maturity yield at 0%. Investors composed of small and mid-sized asset management firms forwent interest revenue, meaning they invested essentially on the single prospect of a rising share price. The deal was a hit as expectations for a recovery in the secondary battery equipment cycle intersected in the market.
But with the share price underperforming expectations and order cancellations piling on, investors appear to have pivoted to at least recouping principal. However, principal repayment requests are unlikely to trigger an immediate cash crunch. As of the end of last year, Hana Technology had about 36 billion won in cash and cash equivalents, and considering the 54 billion won from the fourth CB issued in Feb., its repayment capacity appears sufficient.
There is scrutiny over the fact that the CB early redemption demands occurred on the same day the North American secondary battery corporations notified termination. The interpretation is that investors who learned of the cancellation in advance may have moved preemptively.
Hana Technology, however, explained that the pre-set early redemption payment date and the timing of the termination simply coincided by chance. Hana Technology said, "The CB early redemption claim date was already set in Apr. 2024, and this termination was for a contract won in Mar. 2025," adding, "There is no causality between the two events."
Regarding the fact that CB investors effectively cut their losses, it said, "We feel deep responsibility for failing to meet expectations," adding, "We will do our best to achieve a performance turnaround based on large orders and restore market trust."