Hints at New Achievements in the US Market
"Famous Data Center Companies Visiting LS Electric's Cheongju Plant"
Trump Administration's Tariff Policy Seen as Opportunity for Growth
Gu Ja-gyun, Chairman of LS Electric, stated, "For security reasons, we cannot disclose specific companies, but the data center projects of major US (big tech) companies are almost at the contract award stage." He also expressed confidence that the Trump administration's tariff policy could create opportunities in the power equipment market by driving demand to build factories within the United States.
LS Electric Chairman Koo Ja-kyun is answering questions from the press at COEX, Seoul, on the 12th. Photo by Yonhap News
On the morning of the 12th, at the largest domestic smart power and energy exhibition 'ELEX Korea 2025' held at COEX in Seoul, Chairman Gu told reporters, "Visible results will come out by the end of this year or around next year." He added, "Famous data center companies are visiting LS Electric's Cheongju plant," and "We are also working hard on product development to meet customer needs."
LS Electric achieved annual sales of 4.5518 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 389.7 billion KRW last year, driven by strong distribution and ultra-high voltage businesses centered in North America. These figures represent increases of 7.6% and 19.96% respectively compared to the previous year, marking the highest performance in the company's history. This year, with steady expansion of power demand mainly in the North American region and the added possibility of big tech companies' orders, LS Electric's performance is expected to remain robust.
It is known that LS Electric currently supplies distribution panels (power distribution devices) to xAI, an artificial intelligence (AI) service company founded by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and it is reported that distribution panels will soon be supplied to data centers of big tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.
Anduk Geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Koo Ja-kyun, Chairman of LS Electric, and others are touring the LS Electric booth at the "Korea Smart Grid Expo 2025" held on the 12th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
Although no related policy has yet been announced regarding power products, Chairman Gu views the Trump administration's tariff policy as potentially an opportunity.
He analyzed that even if tariffs are imposed on the company's main products such as transformers under 'reciprocal tariffs,' the proportion of transformer sales within the US is not large, and since tariffs are likely to be imposed on all power companies, LS Electric may not lose price competitiveness. In particular, he assessed that if companies increasingly build factories in the US due to tariffs, power demand will grow accordingly.
Chairman Gu said, "Among Korean companies in the semiconductor, electric vehicle, and battery sectors entering the US market due to the tariff policy, there is a growing movement to build factories in the US," adding, "This will lead to an explosion in power demand, and the company will be able to achieve greater results in the US market by strengthening its business capabilities in ultra-high voltage transformers, distribution panels, and energy storage systems (ESS)."
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