Cable and power equipment affiliates of LS Group (006260.KS) posted a string of record results as the artificial intelligence boom lifted sales of cables and transformers used in data centers. LS plans to strengthen its position in the power infrastructure market, where demand for data centers and power plants is surging, by expanding partnerships with Big Tech firms and production capacity centered on North America.
Combined third-quarter revenue at three major LS Cable & System subsidiaries — Gaon Cable (000500.KS), LS Eco Energy (229640.KS) and LS Marine Solution (060370.KS) — rose 47.2% from a year earlier to 1.41 trillion won ($988 million), according to industry sources on the 21st. Combined operating profit climbed 88.7% to 81.1 billion won.
For the first three quarters of this year, the three companies posted record revenue of 3.83 trillion won and operating profit of 200.7 billion won. Those figures were up 35.2% and 88.7% respectively from the same period last year, and already exceeded their full-year results for 2025, when the three companies reported combined revenue of 3.75 trillion won and operating profit of 153 billion won.
Gaon Cable's third-quarter revenue of 986.5 billion won and operating profit of 52 billion won were both quarterly records, while LS Eco Energy's revenue of 351.5 billion won and operating profit of 22.2 billion won marked its best third quarter ever. LS Marine Solution's revenue fell 4.3% from a year earlier to 73.6 billion won because its cable-laying vessel GL 2030 was undergoing an upgrade and could not be deployed, but its nine-month revenue of 221.9 billion won was a record. Operating profit rose 135% to 6.9 billion won.
The simultaneous records reflect surging demand for cables and bus ducts — power distribution equipment — as Big Tech firms compete to build AI data centers, as well as for LS Marine Solution's installation services.
Gaon Cable, which leads the group's North American business, secured more than 5 trillion won in bus duct orders alone in the first half of this year. In the second half, it has signed contracts to supply bus ducts and distribution cables for data centers as well as U.S. power plants and Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit power network. The company plans to double its medium-voltage cable capacity through an expansion of its local plant by early next year.
LS Eco Energy, which has focused on Southeast Asia, is moving into North America in earnest after agreeing to supply underground cables to a U.S. solar power complex. LS Marine Solution, following its first overseas submarine cable installation project at an offshore wind farm for Taiwan Power, recently joined the Langkawi project in Malaysia. The company is preparing for a rebound in revenue as the GL 2030, whose loading capacity has been increased to 7,000 tons from 4,000 tons, returns to service.
LS Cable & System, which is unlisted, did not disclose third-quarter results, but double-digit growth is expected on the back of its key subsidiaries' global expansion. Brokerages estimate the company's third-quarter revenue rose about 30% from a year earlier to the mid-2 trillion won range.
LS Electric, which supplies transformers, another essential piece of data center equipment, also reported strong results. The company said on the 21st that third-quarter revenue was 1.88 trillion won and operating profit 233.5 billion won, up 54.4% and 131.7% respectively from a year earlier and both quarterly records. Quarterly operating profit topped 200 billion won for the first time, and nine-month operating profit reached 538.6 billion won, already above the 426.4 billion won it recorded for all of last year. The company has now posted 100 consecutive quarters of operating profit since the fourth quarter of 2001.
The results were driven by an expansion of high-value projects such as power solutions for AI data centers and ultra-high-voltage transformers. Revenue from switchboards, its main product, rose 120% from a year earlier, leading the top-line growth, while revenue from ultra-high-voltage transformers more than doubled.
This month, LS Electric signed three consecutive contracts worth more than 100 billion won each to supply Big Tech firms with ultra-high-voltage transformers, distribution solutions, switchgear and distribution transformers. The company is also increasing investment in its production facilities in Utah and Texas to meet surging demand for power infrastructure in North America.