[Edaily Reporter Shin Yeong-bin ] LOTTE INNOVATE(286940)reported a significant increase in operating profit in the third quarter of this year, driven by improved profitability. Next year, the company plans to convert external data center orders into revenue and push forward with the commercialization of its artificial intelligence (AI) and mobility businesses.

LOTTE INNOVATE announced that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter of this year reached 12.4 billion won, an 88.0% increase compared to the same period last year.

Revenue for the same period rose 2.3% to 284 billion won. The company posted a net loss of 7.1 billion won, marking a shift to a loss from the net profit of 4.0 billion won recorded in the same period last year.

Revenue was close to the market forecast of 286.4 billion won, while operating profit exceeded the forecast of 11.0 billion won by approximately 13%.

The company explained that selective order intake focused on profitability, streamlined business operations, and improved profitability at its subsidiaries contributed to the results. While maintaining the revenue base of its existing IT services business, the company is concentrating its efforts on growth areas such as data centers and AI.

The securities industry expects the data center business to make a greater contribution to revenue starting next year. Kim Dong-woo, an analyst at KYOBOSECURITIESCO.,LTD., stated in a report published on the 21st of last month that, following this year’s cost-efficiency achievements, revenue growth centered on data centers is expected to accelerate starting in 2027.

The expansion of business related to global cloud service providers (CSPs) and the inclusion of revenue from data center design, construction, and operation (DBO) were cited as growth drivers. Analyst Kim estimated that the data center business’s share of consolidated revenue would rise from 18.4% this year to 20.9% next year and 25.3% in 2028.

LOTTE INNOVATE is expanding its base of external clients in the data center sector. Following the outsourcing of the Kam Square data center’s operations, the company has secured contracts for the DBO of EGIS Co., Ltd’s edge data center and the outsourcing of a large-scale data center in Ansan.

The company plans to expand its operations business, which can secure steady revenue based on long-term contracts. It aims to broaden its customer base to include not only group affiliates but also global clients and external companies, while strengthening its business capabilities spanning from construction to operations.

The expansion of its own data centers, increased investment in AI and IT infrastructure by group affiliates, and the potential to enter overseas data center markets—such as Vietnam—are also cited as future growth drivers.

In the AI sector, the company will advance its Artificial Intelligence Transformation (AX) business, which supports business innovation for enterprises. It plans to secure physical AI technology capabilities through robot learning and field demonstrations at industrial sites, laying the groundwork for future expansion into the Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) business.

In the mobility sector, the company will pursue the commercialization of AI-based smart tolling and autonomous driving technologies, which were recently unveiled at the ITS World Congress in Gangneung. It is also exploring entry into overseas markets based on domestic pilot projects and global partnerships.

LOTTE INNOVATE stated, “Next year, we plan to maintain a profitability-focused management strategy while expanding external revenue from data centers and increasing the revenue contribution of our AI and mobility businesses.”