April 20, 2024

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KT said on May 3 its net profit jumped 15.9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, led by upbeat revenue from its TV and content business.

The South Korean telecom provider posted 260 billion won ($222 million) in net profit in the January-March period, compared with 224 billion won a year ago.

Its operating profit climbed 1.3 percent on-year to 402 billion won, and sales rose 2.2 percent to 5.8 trillion won in the three-month period, the firm said in a financial statement.

Its wireless division’s revenue edged down 0.5 percent on-year to 1.7 trillion won in the three-month period, but strong growth in the media content business boosted overall profitability, the company said.

Revenue from its media and content business jumped 15.7 percent to 641.2 billion, with subscribers of IPTV surpassing 8 million as of March. 

KT said it has attracted about 100,000 subscribers to its 5G service since its commercial launch in early April, the largest number among the nation’s three carriers.

Its capital expenditure more than doubled to 552 billion won in the first quarter from a year earlier as it ramped up investment in 5G infrastructure.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)