SK Telecom said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that its second-quarter operating profit jumped 67.3 percent on-year to 566 billion won ($397 million), driven by strong growth in its data center business.
Revenue edged up 0.5 percent on-year to 4.36 trillion won, while net profit surged 460.1 percent on-year to 466 billion won, according to the preliminary earnings report.
Operating profit and net profit beat market expectations, while revenue came in slightly below forecasts. Financial data provider FnGuide had estimated operating profit of 545.8 billion won, revenue of 4.41 trillion won and net profit of 352.4 billion won.
SK Telecom cited expanding data center operations, tighter cost controls and a favorable base effect from one-off expenses booked a year earlier.
Its artificial intelligence data center business was the standout performer, with revenue soaring 92.5 percent on-year to 136.2 billion won as more capacity came online.
SK Telecom established SK Hyper, a dedicated subsidiary for AI data center development, in July and plans to inject up to 750 billion won into the unit by 2030.
SK Hyper will lead the phased development of AI data centers with a combined capacity of 5 gigawatts, with the company aiming to expand the total to 15 GW by 2035.
The core mobile business also showed signs of improvement. SK Telecom gained a net 156,842 subscribers through mobile number portability from January to July, according to the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association.
The mobile market saw increased switching activity during the period as KT waived early termination fees and Samsung Electronics ran a customer appreciation campaign in the second quarter.
In July, SK Telecom also rolled out integrated 5G and LTE plans as part of a broader overhaul of its pricing structure. The company said the changes were intended to improve service accessibility and the overall customer experience.
“Stable earnings from the telecom business allowed us to strengthen our fundamentals in the first half and lay the groundwork for rapid expansion in AI data centers,” said Chief Financial Officer Park Jong-seok.
“We will work to ensure that SK Telecom plays a leading role in Korea’s bid to become Asia’s AI infrastructure hub.”
yeeun@heraldcorp.com