The return to profit
Samsung SDI closed the third quarter with an operating profit of 407.8 billion won, about $305 million, according to a regulatory filing cited by The Korea Herald. Twelve months earlier, the company had reported an operating loss of 591.3 billion won, while in the previous quarter profit was 203.8 billion won. Revenue rose 52.6% year on year to 4.69 trillion won. According to the source, this is the best quarterly result since the third quarter of 2023, when operating profit reached 496 billion won.
What drove the figures
The recovery is attributed mainly to the battery division, whose revenue grew 55.3% year on year to 4.41 trillion won, with an operating profit of 361.9 billion won that reverses the loss in the same period a year earlier. The company links the improvement to growing demand for energy storage systems and backup batteries, fueled by the expansion of AI data center infrastructure by major technology companies. Higher sales of cylindrical batteries used in power tools and electric vehicles also contributed.
The electronic materials division, which produces components for semiconductors and panels, reported revenue of 275.7 billion won and an operating profit of 45.9 billion won, up 18.9% and 18.3%, respectively, supported by sales of semiconductor lithography materials and display films for foldable smartphones.
Outlook and unresolved issues
During the earnings conference call, Chief Financial Officer Oh Jae-kyun said the company expects to remain profitable in the fourth quarter as well, thanks to growth in energy storage systems and small batteries. The company has also accelerated its expansion in the U.S. storage market: it has announced orders for more than 60 gigawatt-hours since the start of the year and plans to use the Synergy Cells plant in Indiana as its production base for these batteries. The facility, under construction, became the first plant wholly controlled by Samsung SDI in North America after the company's August acquisition of the 49.99% stake held by General Motors in the joint venture.
The company is expanding production of lithium iron phosphate batteries and has signed long-term agreements with Korean cathode material suppliers to reduce dependence on China. In early October, it began mass production of high-capacity LFP prismatic cells at the StarPlus Energy plant in the United States, and in Europe it won an LFP project for electric vehicles. On solid-state batteries, Executive Vice President Cho Han-jae indicated the goal of commercializing them in the second half of next year, with humanoid robots as a key application: in September, cell and pack samples were sent to multiple customers, which are evaluating their performance. The actual timing of mass production and the consolidation of the key materials supply chain remain to be verified.
