KT Skylife Turns to Consolidated Net Loss... ENA Ranks 8th in Viewership Ratings

Consolidated Revenue of 254.6 Billion KRW and Operating Loss of 200 Million KRW
However, Content Division Shows Results...ENA Channel Ratings Up
Separate Revenue of 176.2 Billion KRW and Operating Profit of 12.7 Billion KRW

KT Skylife announced on the 6th that it recorded consolidated sales (Skylife + HCN + Skylife TV) of 254.6 billion KRW, an operating loss of 200 million KRW, and EBITDA of 45.6 billion KRW.

The company stated, "The increase in intangible asset amortization was inevitable to establish a virtuous cycle where content hits lead to revenue growth."

With a net increase of 41,000 subscribers to 'SkyTPS,' a combined service of satellite broadcasting, internet, and mobile, the total number of subscribers remained steady at 5.82 million compared to the previous quarter. Operating revenue from the platform segment of Skylife and HCN was 231.5 billion KRW, similar to 233.8 billion KRW in the same period last year.

The content segment showed strong performance. ENA channel, operated by Skylife TV, achieved its highest-ever viewership ranking of 8th place (ranking among 2,049 channels in the Seoul metropolitan area). This surpassed the 9th place ranking in Q3 2022 when the drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" aired. In Q2 this year, ENA aired content with around 1% viewership ratings such as "I Am Solo Season 20," "Crash," and "Earth's Magical World Tour 2." As the value of the ENA channel increased, the content segment’s operating revenue reached 23.2 billion KRW on a consolidated basis, and advertising revenue was 17 billion KRW on a separate basis.

Skylife recently introduced AI services such as the AI-based sports media platform business "AI Sports" and AI contact center (CC) as new growth businesses.

With net increases in internet and mobile subscribers, telecommunications service revenue grew. Accordingly, separate sales were 176.2 billion KRW, similar to 176.6 billion KRW in the same period last year, while operating profit slightly decreased to 12.7 billion KRW from 16.4 billion KRW during the same period.

The company explained, "Although telecommunications service revenue grew, we continued to apply annual smoothing of seasonal costs (such as broadcasting development funds) evenly throughout the year. One-time expenses such as increased program usage fee negotiations, business structure reviews, and growth strategy consulting to discover cash cows were also reflected."

Jo Il, KT Skylife’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), said, "We saw growth in telecommunications service revenue due to net increases in internet and mobile subscribers, and ENA channel’s viewership ranking reached a quarterly high of 8th place. We will expand the net increase in subscribers of the SkyTPS product to improve profitability and seek growth engines through AI-based new businesses to enhance shareholder value."