SK Telecom reports strong Q1 on thriving 5G-based biz

[Photo by MK DB]

South Korea¡¯s leading wireless carrier SK Telecom Co. reported solid earnings growth in the first quarter, owing to thriving subscription and contents businesses on 5G.

SK Telecom in a regulatory filing on Tuesday estimated its consolidated operating income at 432.4 billion won ($339 million) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, up 90.7 percent from previous quarter and 15.6 percent from a year earlier. Revenue came to 4.3 trillion won, down 0.5 percent on quarter but up 4 percent on year.

Its net income fell 30 percent on quarter and 61.5 percent on year to 220.3 billion won due to changes in accounting from its split-off of non-telco units in November last year.

Its shares added 1.7 percent to close at 59,100 won on Tuesday.

On a separate basis, SK Telecom registered 356.9 billion won in operating income over revenue of 3.1 trillion won, gaining 16.2 percent and 3.2 percent on year, respectively. The telco added 1 million 5G subscribers in the first quarter to record 10.9 million.

SK Broadband delivered 76.1 billion won in operating income, up 0.9 percent on year, with revenue of 1.03 trillion won, up 6.1 percent on year. The company showed net growth in IPTV subscribers for the fourth quarter in a row.

The telco¡¯s five new growth engines have been running smoothly.

Its subscription-based e-commerce platform T Universe recently topped 1 million users, with merchandize sales exceeding 130 billion won in the first quarter. The metaverse platform, ifland, recorded monthly active user count of 1.35 million in March.

Sales from media-related business rose 10.3 percent on year. SK Stoa, operating television-based commerce service, contributed 89.5 billion won in sales and cemented its position as industry leader.

Revenue from data center and cloud computing services increased 17.4 percent on year. The company opened a new data center in July last year with more under way.

SK Telecom is keeping up with its aggressive investment on 5G network infrastructure.

The telco, together with SK Broadband, spent 297.4 billion won on facilities expansion and upgrades in the first quarter, up 27 percent on year. Their annual capital expenditure for this year is expected to come around 3 trillion won, about the same as the preceding four consecutive years.

[¨Ï Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]