Samsung E&A enters the 1-trillion-won operating profit era, topping KRW 500 billion in Q3 alone

[Financial News] Samsung E&A is virtually certain to enter the era of KRW 1 trillion in annual operating profit for the first time since its founding. Operating profit exceeded KRW 500 billion in the third quarter alone, prompting the company to raise its forecast for the year from KRW 800 billion to KRW 1.4 trillion.
Samsung E&A disclosed on the 22nd that its preliminary third-quarter results showed revenue of KRW 2.9105 trillion and operating profit of KRW 500.6 billion. These figures represent increases of 45.8% in revenue and a staggering 183.6% in operating profit from the same period a year earlier.
Year to date, revenue totaled KRW 7.7872 trillion and operating profit KRW 961.9 billion. Operating profit has already surpassed the annual target of KRW 800 billion and is nearing KRW 1 trillion. The company therefore raised its forecast, announcing in a revised operating outlook filing that operating profit for the year is expected to reach KRW 1.4 trillion.
Behind Samsung E&A’s earnings surprise is an order book that has grown far beyond initial expectations. The company secured orders worth KRW 9.4 trillion in the third quarter alone, while year-to-date orders easily exceeded its KRW 12 trillion target for the year. Year-to-date orders reached KRW 17.1 trillion, bringing its order backlog to KRW 27.2 trillion. Based on last year’s revenue of KRW 9 trillion, it has secured work equivalent to three years’ worth.
The robust order book reflects several major wins in its chemical engineering business. The most recent was a large fertilizer plant in Saudi Arabia, for which it signed an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract in September worth KRW 4.7 trillion.
Several projects could bring additional orders by the end of the year. The most frequently discussed is a urea plant in Qatar, which the industry expects could be worth up to KRW 5.3 trillion. The KRW 3.3 trillion Mexinol methanol project in Mexico and the KRW 2.7 trillion Khafji gas project in Saudi Arabia are also considered likely prospects. These are why Samsung E&A sharply raised its year-to-date order forecast from KRW 12 trillion to KRW 19 trillion in its revised filing.
Samsung E&A is also working to sustain the flow of chemical engineering orders. On the 12th, it decided to team up with the Korea Gas Safety Corporation to target the overseas market for maintenance of aging plants. Meanwhile, new orders in its Advanced Industries and New Energy businesses, which it is developing as future growth engines, have also added to its order book. Year-to-date orders totaled KRW 6.2564 trillion in Advanced Industries and KRW 2.4662 trillion in New Energy. Their respective order backlogs stood at KRW 8.9861 trillion and KRW 5.8292 trillion.
Samsung E&A said profitability also improved as orders continued to come in, led by chemical engineering, thanks to cost management and technology-driven innovations in project execution, including artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation (DT) and robotics. By business segment, gross profit was KRW 616 billion in chemical engineering, KRW 406 billion in Advanced Industries and KRW 359.2 billion in New Energy. Gross profit totaled KRW 1.3812 trillion before selling, general and administrative expenses—already exceeding KRW 1 trillion. A Samsung E&A official said, "Building on our substantial order backlog, we will continue to secure quality orders and deliver stable results through rigorous project management and differentiated execution based on innovative technologies."
Samsung E&A will return value to shareholders and reward employees following its strong results. The board decided today to buy back KRW 780 billion worth of treasury shares from the 23rd through January 22 next year. Of that amount, KRW 690 billion will be retired to enhance shareholder value, while KRW 90 billion will be used for employee bonuses and other purposes. The decision reflects the company’s view that growth will continue, supported by a strong order outlook and efficiency gains from AI-based technology.
A Samsung E&A official said, "We will strengthen the foundations for sustained growth over the medium to long term through balanced growth across our chemical engineering, Advanced Industries and New Energy businesses."
[email protected] Kim Yun-ho Reporter