The South Korean battery maker swung to a third-quarter operating profit of 407.8 billion won ($304.5 million) from a 591.3 billion won loss a year earlier, according to its preliminary earnings filing. Operating profit doubled from 203.8 billion won in the second quarter to its highest level since the third quarter of 2023.
Samsung SDI said demand from artificial intelligence data centers lifted sales of energy storage systems (ESS) and battery backup units, which keep servers running during power outages.
Higher sales of cylindrical batteries for power tools and electric vehicles also helped the battery division swing to an operating profit of 361.9 billion won.
Revenue rose 52.6 percent from a year earlier to 4.69 trillion won. Net profit fell 27.4 percent from the previous quarter to 342.2 billion won, while net profit attributable to the parent company's shareholders came to 294.6 billion won, up from 47.9 billion won a year earlier.
The electronic materials division, which makes chipmaking and display materials, raised operating profit 18.3 percent to 45.9 billion won.
Samsung SDI said it has won more than 60 gigawatt-hours of ESS orders this year and began mass-producing lithium iron phosphate cells, a cheaper battery chemistry widely used for energy storage, at its StarPlus Energy plant in the United States this month.
"We expect solid growth in the ESS and small battery businesses to continue in the fourth quarter, keeping us in the black," the company said.
Shares of Samsung SDI traded at 516,000 won at 10:46 a.m., down 3.37 percent from the previous session.
"Humanoids and aerospace have very large growth potential over the mid to long term, and we have secured global customers with our high-power batteries," said Cho Han-jae, an executive vice president at Samsung SDI, during an earnings call.
Cho said volumes from new businesses, including humanoids and aerospace, would rise gradually from next year and make up more than 10 percent of sales in 2028.
AJP Takeaways
- Samsung SDI reported a preliminary third-quarter 2026 operating profit of 407.8 billion won on Oct. 29, 2026, reversing a 591.3 billion won loss a year earlier and doubling from the second quarter.
- Revenue rose 52.6 percent from a year earlier to 4.69 trillion won, and the battery division posted 361.9 billion won in operating profit on stronger ESS and BBU sales to AI data centers.
- Samsung SDI said it has secured more than 60 gigawatt-hours of ESS orders in 2026 and expects to stay profitable in the fourth quarter.
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