Samsung SDS increased both revenue and operating profit in the third quarter of this year, supported by growth in its cloud and logistics businesses. Rising corporate demand for artificial intelligence transformation (AX) drove growth in the cloud business, while increased air and sea freight volumes also contributed to the improved results.
Samsung SDS said on October 29 that its consolidated third-quarter revenue totaled 3.7725 trillion won and operating profit reached 241 billion won. These figures were up 11.2% and 3.7%, respectively, from a year earlier. Compared with the previous quarter, revenue rose 1.5% and operating profit increased 4.0%.
By business segment, IT services revenue rose 5.3% year on year to 1.681 trillion won. Within that segment, cloud revenue grew 18% to 796.1 billion won, driving the IT services results.
The cloud service provider (CSP) business grew 15%, supported by rising demand for Samsung Cloud Platform (SCP) and expanded GPU-as-a-service (GPUaaS) supply to the public and software sectors. The managed service provider (MSP) business also grew 25%, reflecting increased AX work in the financial sector, expanded enterprise resource planning (ERP) business in the shipbuilding sector, and greater adoption of global AI services.
The logistics business recorded revenue of 2.0915 trillion won, up 16% year on year, as air and sea freight volumes and rates increased. With quarterly revenue exceeding 2 trillion won, Samsung SDS has also moved to expand its air logistics business by recently acquiring a 100% stake in Woojung Air, a specialist in air cargo consolidation.
To sustain its cloud growth, Samsung SDS is also accelerating its 'Multi-Dimensional AI Full-Stack' strategy, which combines AI infrastructure, platforms and services. As companies increase AX investment, it aims to broaden its business from securing data center infrastructure to providing AI services applied to actual work.
In AI infrastructure, the company has been selected as the preferred bidder for a project to design, build and operate (DBO) a data center with a capacity of at least 200 MW being pursued by Pacific Asset Management, raising expectations for its contribution to earnings. The National AI Computing Center, on which work began in August, is under construction with completion targeted for 2028. An AI data center being developed in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, with an initial power capacity of 60 MW is also scheduled to hold a groundbreaking ceremony in early November.
In AX services, Samsung SDS has won contracts to build AI and data platforms for the financial sector and has also been selected as the preferred bidder for AI platform projects for an insurer and a financial holding company. Related business opportunities appear to be increasing as demand for AI platform development expands, particularly in the financial sector.
In the public sector, the company is expanding the supply of its AI collaboration solution Brity Works. Adoption is spreading across government agencies, including a recent contract with the National Police Agency, bringing its cumulative public-sector user base to 330,000. It has also launched Brity Works Cowork, an AI assistant that supports searches and analysis of internal corporate materials and document preparation, strengthening its competitiveness in work automation services.
The company is also strengthening cooperation with global AI companies. After being selected as a pilot partner for OpenAI's Daybreak Partner Program, Samsung SDS joined cybersecurity-related programs run by Google and Anthropic. The moves are intended to secure the security capabilities required when enterprise customers adopt AI and strengthen its AX business competitiveness.
In physical AI, the company has formed a robotics partnership called Team REX with Rainbow Robotics, Walden Robotics and others. It is currently pursuing robot demonstration projects at Samsung affiliates' industrial sites and plans to expand their application depending on the validation results.
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Samsung SDS plans to pursue AI infrastructure investment and expand its corporate AX business, supported by growth in its cloud and logistics businesses. It aims to secure new demand and strengthen its medium- to long-term growth foundation by linking data center construction, GPU service provision, and AI platform projects in the financial and public sectors.
'Both revenue and operating profit increased in the third quarter thanks to the expansion of our cloud and logistics businesses,' Samsung SDS said. 'Based on our Multi-Dimensional AI Full-Stack strategy encompassing AI infrastructure, platforms and services, we will expand our AX business and work to secure future growth drivers.'
Original Korean article: ZDNet Korea
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
