SKT Reports Operating Profit of 1.8234 Trillion KRW Last Year, Up 4% Year-on-Year Thanks to AI

Revenue Up 1.9% to 17.9406 Trillion KRW
Net Profit Up 25.6% to 1.4388 Trillion KRW

SK Telecom announced on the 12th that its consolidated operating profit for last year reached 1.8234 trillion KRW, a 4% increase compared to the same period the previous year. Revenue rose by 1.9% year-on-year to 17.9406 trillion KRW, and net profit increased by 25.6% to 1.4388 trillion KRW.

An SK Telecom official stated, "AI-related revenue increased by 19%, supporting the improvement in performance." In particular, sales from the AI Transformation (AIX) business grew by 32% compared to the previous year. This was thanks to the expansion of B2B products such as AI Cloud and AI Contact Center (AICC). The AI Data Center (AIDC) recorded sales of 397.4 billion KRW, up 13.1% year-on-year due to increased utilization rates. The cumulative number of subscribers to the AI voice assistant service ‘Aidot’ surpassed 8 million as of the end of last year, a 160% growth compared to the previous year.

SK Telecom plans to actively promote ‘money-making AI’ starting this year. At the end of last year, the company reorganized its structure into seven business divisions centered on ‘telecommunications’ and ‘AI,’ and made large-scale investments to advance AI technology. In particular, to accelerate the AIDC business, it made a strategic investment in the global GPU cloud company ‘Lambda.’ It also signed an investment contract worth 200 million USD (2.904 trillion KRW), the largest AI investment to date, with AIDC solution company ‘Penguin Solutions.’

The increase in IPTV (Internet TV) subscribers positively impacted last year’s overall performance, with subsidiary SK Broadband’s revenue and operating profit rising 3.1% and 13.7% year-on-year to 4.4111 trillion KRW and 351.7 billion KRW, respectively. Meanwhile, the dividend for the fourth quarter of last year was approved by the board of directors at 1,050 KRW per share. Including the already paid 2,490 KRW per share, the annual dividend per share will be 3,540 KRW, which will be finalized after approval at the regular shareholders’ meeting next month.