[Click eStock] "SK Telecom Target Price Lowered on Revised Earnings Estimates"

On May 13, Meritz Securities revised its target price for SK Telecom to 67,500 won, down 3.6% from the previous figure. This adjustment reflects changes in earnings estimates following a personal information leak incident.

In the first quarter of this year, SK Telecom posted results that exceeded market consensus. Revenue was 4.4537 trillion won, similar to the previous year, while operating profit rose 13.8% year-on-year to 567.4 billion won.

Meritz Securities forecasts SK Telecom's consolidated revenue and operating profit for this year at 17.94 trillion won and 1.9 trillion won, respectively. Revenue is expected to be flat compared to last year, while operating profit is projected to increase by 4%. Compared to Meritz Securities’ initial estimates, revenue is 1.1% lower and operating profit is 0.8% lower.

Jeong Jisoo, a researcher at Meritz Securities, explained, "From April 22 to May 8, there was a net decrease of about 237,000 mobile number portability subscribers. However, after the introduction of solutions such as USIM protection services and USIM format solutions, the pace of net decrease has eased."

She added, "If new subscriber recruitment resumes through discussions with government agencies, concerns about prolonged poor performance are also expected to be resolved. Despite unpredictable financial burdens, the shareholder return policy at last year's level is expected to be maintained."

However, she also stated, "The fair value target price is being lowered from 70,000 won to 67,500 won, reflecting the revised earnings estimates, a decrease of 3.6%."