LG Uplus Reports Operating Profit of 863.1 Billion KRW Last Year, Down 13.5% YoY

Impact of Integrated IT System and One-Time Labor Costs
Mobile Sales Up 1.8%... AX Initiatives Drive Growth
Dividend Set at 650 KRW per Share

LG Uplus announced that its operating profit on a consolidated basis last year amounted to 863.1 billion KRW, representing a 13.5% decrease compared to the previous year. During the same period, sales increased by 1.8% to 14.6252 trillion KRW.

The decline in operating profit is attributed to intangible asset amortization costs from the establishment of a new integrated IT system and one-time labor costs in the fourth quarter due to a court ruling expanding the scope of ordinary wages.

Sales increased by 1.8% year-on-year. According to LG Uplus, the main growth drivers were the increase in high-value subscription lines following the full-scale AI transformation (AX) of wired and wireless services, such as the voice agent ‘ixi-O’ and the IPTV ‘AI Media Agent’.

Service revenue, excluding device sales, also rose by 1.8% compared to 2023. On a separate basis, service revenue increased by 2.3% year-on-year to 10.982 trillion KRW, exceeding the management guidance of ‘2% growth in service revenue on a separate basis.’

On an annual basis, CAPEX (capital expenditure) decreased by 23.6% compared to the previous year to 1.9208 trillion KRW, as the construction of base stations following the allocation of an additional 20 MHz frequency was completed. Marketing expenses increased by 2.1% year-on-year to 2.2091 trillion KRW.

Despite the decrease in operating profit, dividends were confirmed at 650 KRW, the same as last year. The ‘payout ratio,’ which indicates the proportion of net income paid out as cash dividends, rose by 11.5 percentage points from 2023 to 54.7%. As part of its corporate value enhancement plan announced last year, LG Uplus plans to increase the shareholder return ratio to 40-60% of net income this year, including reviewing share buybacks and cancellations.