Samsung E&A experienced a sharp surge in early trading on Thursday, driven by robust third-quarter results and the announcement of a substantial share buyback program.
As of 9:26 a.m. (KST), Samsung E&A’s stock price jumped by 8,600 KRW (about 6.51 USD) (18.03%) to 56,300 KRW (about 42.6 USD).
Market analysts attribute the boost in investor sentiment to the company’s strong third-quarter performance, upward revision of annual forecasts, and the unveiling of a special shareholder return plan.
In its preliminary earnings report, Samsung E&A disclosed consolidated sales of 2.91 trillion KRW (about 2.2 billion USD) and an operating profit of 500.6 billion KRW (about 378.8 million USD) for the third quarter. These figures represent impressive year-over-year increases of 45.8% and 183.6%, respectively.
The cumulative sales for the third quarter reached 7.78 trillion KRW (about 5.89 billion USD), with operating profit hitting 961.9 billion KRW (about 728 million USD). Notably, the cumulative operating profit has already surpassed the company’s previous annual target of 800 billion KRW (about 605 million USD).
Samsung E&A credited its strong performance to revenue recognition from major chemical and advanced industrial projects. The company also highlighted improvements in productivity and profitability, citing effective project cost management and the implementation of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation (DT), and robotics.
The company’s order book also showed significant growth. New orders for the third quarter totaled 9.4 trillion KRW (about 7.11 billion USD), bringing the cumulative order value to 17.1 trillion KRW (about 12.9 billion USD). A key contributor to this impressive figure was the company’s solo acquisition of a fertilizer project worth approximately 4.7 trillion KRW (about 3.56 billion USD) from Saudi Arabia’s Sabic Agri-Nutrients in September.
By the close of the third quarter, Samsung E&A’s order backlog stood at a robust 27.2 trillion KRW (about 20.6 billion USD), representing roughly three years of work based on the previous year’s sales figures.
In light of these strong results, Samsung E&A has revised its annual forecasts upward. The company now projects total orders of 19 trillion KRW (about 14.4 billion USD), up from the previous estimate of 12 trillion KRW (about 9.1 billion USD), and has increased its operating profit forecast from 800 billion KRW (about 605 million USD) to 1.4 trillion KRW (about 1.06 billion USD).
Additionally, the company announced an ambitious shareholder return plan. Starting October 23 and continuing through January 22 of next year, Samsung E&A plans to repurchase approximately 780 billion KRW (about 590 million USD) worth of its own shares. Of this amount, 690 billion KRW (about 522 million USD) in shares will be bought back and subsequently canceled, while the remaining 90 billion KRW (about 68.1 million USD) will be allocated for employee bonuses and other corporate purposes.
A spokesperson for Samsung E&A stated that leveraging the substantial order backlog, it’s committed to maintaining high-quality order performance and delivering stable financial results. This will be achieved through rigorous project management and by differentiating ourselves through the application of innovative technologies.