Lotte Innovate reported an operating profit that exceeded market expectations in the third quarter of this year, driven by improved profitability. The company plans to accelerate growth in new sectors such as data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) starting next year.
On November 2, Lotte Innovate announced that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter reached 12.4 billion won, an increase of approximately 88% compared to the same period last year. Revenue rose by about 2.3% to 284 billion won.
The company attributed its strong performance to selective orders focused on profitability, operational efficiency, and improvements in subsidiary profitability. This reflects a strategic shift in its portfolio towards more profitable business areas while maintaining a stable revenue base from its existing IT services.
Building on this solid management foundation, Lotte Innovate plans to focus on growth in its data center business starting next year. Analysts believe that the expansion of its global cloud service provider (CSP) business and revenue from data center design, build, and operate (DBO) services will be key drivers of future growth.
Indeed, Lotte Innovate is expanding its client base in the data center sector. It has secured contracts for the management of the Kamsquare data center, the DBO project for the edge data center of Aegis Asset Management, and the management of a large data center in Ansan. By broadening its scope from construction to operation, the company is strengthening its position in the related market.
Particularly, the data center operation business is seen as a long-term growth driver due to its ability to secure stable revenue through long-term contracts. Moving away from a structure primarily focused on group affiliates, the company aims to expand its customer base to include global CSPs and external companies, translating contract achievements into actual revenue.
Lotte Innovate is also exploring additional growth opportunities. Plans include expanding its own data centers, increasing investments in AI and IT infrastructure from group affiliates, and considering entry into overseas data center markets such as Vietnam as factors for long-term business expansion.
In the AI sector, the company is enhancing its AX business, which supports corporate work innovation. In the physical AI field, it aims to secure technological capabilities through robot learning and industrial site demonstrations, laying the groundwork for future expansion into robotics as a service (RaaS).
Additionally, Lotte Innovate is pursuing market expansion in the mobility sector. Recently, it unveiled its commercialization strategy for key technologies such as AI-based smart tolling and autonomous driving at the ITS World Congress in Gangneung, and is seeking to enter overseas markets based on domestic pilot projects and global partnerships.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.