KT’s Q1 Operating Profit Reaches 688.8 Billion Won, Up 36% Year-on-Year

KT Corp. announced on May 9 that its consolidated operating profit for the first quarter of this year increased by 36% year-on-year to 688.8 billion won. Revenue rose 2.9% to 6.8451 trillion won during the same period. Net income grew by 44.2% to 566.8 billion won.

The company maintained revenue growth as mobile, internet, and information technology (IT) businesses showed stable expansion. The proportion of 5G subscribers reached 78.9% of total device subscribers. In the fixed-line business, high-speed internet revenue grew by 1.3% year-on-year, driven by an increase in giga-internet subscribers and expanded use of value-added services. However, fixed-line telephone revenue decreased by 10.5% during the same period due to reduced demand in households.

The large-scale workforce restructuring implemented last year is interpreted as significantly contributing to improved profitability. Securities firms analyze that KT has reduced annual labor costs by approximately 300 billion won as a result of workforce reallocation and voluntary retirement programs initiated in October last year. The company’s financial results for the first quarter also partially reflect sales revenue and profit from the Lotte East Pole apartment complex, developed through its subsidiary NextConnect PFV on the Gangbuk Headquarters site near Guui Station, which began occupancy in March.

KT Cloud saw a 42.2% year-on-year revenue growth, with balanced expansion in both cloud and data center businesses. Revenue from AI cloud services based on graphics processing unit (GPU) infrastructure for corporate clients also increased. KT Estate secured a stable revenue base with the completion of 100% pre-sales for the 860-unit residential development project on the KT Daejeon Human Resources Development Institute site.

In the second quarter, KT plans to accelerate its transformation into an AICT (AI + Information and Communications Technology) company through a strategic partnership with Microsoft (MS). The company is preparing to launch a Korea-specific AI model and secure public cloud developed jointly with MS, while providing industry-specific consulting and AX engineering services.

KT also disclosed the implementation status of its “Corporate Value Enhancement Plan.” In accordance with the value-up program announced last November, the company has sold Initech and Playd this year and decided to repurchase and cancel 250 billion won worth of treasury shares, which has been ongoing since February. The first quarter dividend of 600 won per share, a 20% increase from the same period last year, was paid on April 30.