[비즈한국] Samsung C&T028260 plans to add new business objectives at its shareholders' meeting on the 14th. The newly added objectives relate to pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and hydrogen, among others. In recent years, Samsung C&T has been expanding its business into various fields. At the center of this is Lee Seo-hyun, President of Samsung C&T and younger sister of Samsung Electronics005930 Chairman Lee Jae-yong. President Lee is in charge of Samsung C&T’s strategic planning. In essence, the company’s business performance could directly shape the assessment of her leadership.
After stepping down as President of Samsung C&T in December 2018, Lee Seo-hyun served as Chairperson of the Samsung Welfare Foundation and Chair of the Steering Committee for Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art. She returned to management in April 2024 as the President of Strategic Planning at Samsung C&T. At the time of her return, the company stated, "We expect her to contribute to enhancing Samsung C&T’s brand competitiveness, drawing on her experience as President of the Fashion Division and President of Business Strategy at Cheil Worldwide030000, as well as her successful track record in Samsung's cultural and social contribution sectors."
Since President Lee’s return, Samsung C&T’s performance has improved. Revenue grew by 0.50%, from 41.8957 trillion won in 2023 to 42.1032 trillion won in 2024, while operating profit increased by 3.94%, from 2.8702 trillion won to 2.9834 trillion won over the same period. While not an explosive growth, it is considered a solid performance given last year's economic downturn.
Park Jong-ryul, a researcher at Heungkuk Securities, commented on Samsung C&T, stating, "The continuous upward trend in operating performance since 2020 stems from its diversified business portfolio. The investment highlight is Samsung C&T's transformation into a growth-value stock through the securing of new growth drivers."
In fact, while revenue from Samsung C&T's construction division fell from 19.3101 trillion won in 2023 to 18.6547 trillion won in 2024, and the trading division's revenue declined from 13.2660 trillion won to 12.9967 trillion won in the same period, total revenue still managed to rise thanks to growth in the food and beverage and biotech sectors.
The construction industry is expected to remain sluggish this year as well. To maintain its performance, Samsung C&T must focus on managing its business portfolio. Naturally, the corporate world’s attention is turning to President Lee Seo-hyun, who is in charge of the company's strategy.
Samsung C&T has been busy since the beginning of this year. In January, it filed for the trademark "Unigen" with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, related to renewable energy. Furthermore, at the shareholders' meeting on March 14, it plans to add "R&D support, consignment business, and related services for pharmaceuticals," "mail-order brokerage," and "hydrogen power generation and related auxiliary businesses" to its business objectives.
Samsung C&T explained that the pharmaceutical-related business is intended to further develop its Life Science Fund. The Life Science Fund is a venture capital fund created through investments from Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics207940, and Samsung Bioepis, primarily targeting investments in biotech startups.
The mail-order brokerage business is aimed at expanding "Homeniq," the home platform of Samsung C&T's construction division. Homeniq is a platform that allows users to access residential services such as digital smart home services, cultural life, and health management through a single application (app).
The core focus, however, is considered to be the hydrogen-related business. In November 2023, Samsung C&T announced plans to build a green hydrogen production facility in Gimcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do. Green hydrogen is produced solely using renewable energy. This marks the first time a domestic company will build such a facility. Samsung C&T stated it would produce 0.6 tons of green hydrogen per day by utilizing 100% renewable energy in connection with its Gimcheon solar power plant. While initial plans aimed to begin production in January, the facility has not yet been completed.
Hydrogen produced at the facility is intended for use as eco-friendly fuel for hydrogen vehicle charging stations and fuel cell power generation in nearby areas. The challenge is commercial viability. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the cumulative number of electric vehicles in Korea rose by 20.51% from 543,900 in 2023 to 684,244 in 2024. However, the number of hydrogen vehicles only increased by 10.72%, from 34,258 to 37,930. Compared to electric vehicles, the growth rate of hydrogen vehicles is relatively slow.
While Samsung C&T is expanding into various fields, the risk lies in potential poor performance. In a situation where earnings growth cannot be guaranteed, a failure in these new businesses would inevitably lead to a decline in the assessment of President Lee Seo-hyun.
Nevertheless, Samsung C&T does not expect a major decline in performance this year. In its 2024 fourth-quarter earnings report, the company stated regarding this year's outlook, "While management environment uncertainties are expanding and expected to affect each business, we will maintain the previous year's revenue scale based on our diversified business portfolio."