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/SK Telecom

SK Telecom posted operating profit of more than 500 billion won for three consecutive quarters this year, driven by steady growth in its wireless and fixed-line businesses and the elimination of one-off costs.

SK Telecom said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that it recorded consolidated revenue of 4.4973 trillion won and operating profit of 552.3 billion won in the third quarter. Revenue rose 13.1% and operating profit surged 1,040.2% from a year earlier. On a standalone basis, revenue stood at 3.1563 trillion won and operating profit at 413.5 billion won.

The company's core telecommunications business continued to grow, supported by customer-friendly products and services. Mobile service revenue rose 21.6% year-on-year to 2.5697 trillion won. Revenue from cable television and high-speed internet services, both classified as fixed-line businesses, reached 476.2 billion won and 305.5 billion won, respectively. Cable television revenue remained at a level similar to a year earlier, while high-speed internet revenue increased 7.4%.

The AI business also maintained its rapid growth. AI data center revenue generated by subsidiary SK Broadband rose 6.2% year-on-year to 126.1 billion won. Revenue from AI B2C and B2B businesses increased 27.3% over the same period to 70 billion won.

In particular, the launch of new subsidiaries SK Hyper and SK Horizon has established a framework for full-scale development of the AI data center business. SK Horizon is building new data centers with a combined capacity of approximately 180 MW in Ulsan and Seoul and plans to gradually expand its submarine cable business. SK Hyper is discussing terms with potential customers, mainly in Ulsan, and plans to move quickly to develop infrastructure on land it has secured once the terms are finalized.

The AI services business is also progressing smoothly. SK Telecom is expanding the use of its proprietary AI foundation model by applying it to its A. (A-dot) service and AI services for business use. At the same time, it is working to build Korea's largest AI service ecosystem through its participation in the "AI for All" initiative.

"We were able to achieve both recovery and growth based on our two pillars of telecommunications and AI," said Park Jong-seok, chief financial officer of SK Telecom. "We will continue working to connect our telecommunications and AI businesses under a single growth strategy to amplify synergies."

                                                                                                            Yeon Chan-mo