Seoul, Korea, 28 July 2009 – SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) announced its earnings for the second quarter of 2009: revenue of KRW 3.068 trillion, operating income of KRW 553.4 billion and net income of KRW 311.6 billion.

The revenue climbed by 4.7% year-on-year and 6.7% quarter-on-quarter to stand at KRW 3.068 trillion backed by increase in the number of subscribers and wireless Internet revenue.

The wireless Internet revenue marked KRW 671.2 billion, expanding by 11.8% year-on-year and 7.4% quarter-on-quarter from growth in flat-rate data plan subscribers. The flat-rate data plan subscriber count reached 3.18 million, increasing by 33% year-on-year and 13% quarter-on-quarter.

Marketing expenses stood at KRW 948.6 billion, growing by 8.3% year-on-year and 43.6% quarter-on-quarter as the market overheated in the second quarter, which drove up the subscriber acquisition cost.

Operating income amounted to KRW 553.4 billion, representing a 3.8% increase year-on-year and a 1.9% decrease quarter-on-quarter. Despite a rise in marketing expenses, the figure edged down only slightly thanks to revenue growth. Net income reached KRW 311.6 billion, climbing by 4.6% year-on-year and edging down by 1.6% quarter-on-quarter.

Furthermore, SK Telecom announced that it executed capital expenditure (CAPEX) of KRW 319 billion in the second quarter to secure WCDMA capacity and improve call quality. Cumulative CAPEX in the first half of 2009 amounted to KRW 667.4 billion, expanding by 10% year-on-year.

The cumulative number of subscribers climbed by 5% compared to second quarter of last year to reach 23.83 million while average revenue per user (ARPU) marked KRW 43,369. Although the wireless Internet ARPU edged up by KRW 611 year-on-year, ARPU rose only by KRW 28 year-on-year due to increased customer subscription to family discount plan named ‘T Family Plan’ and other bundled products, which resulted in lower voice-call revenues.

SK Telecom’s CFO Dong-Hyun Jang said, "The Korean mobile telecommunications market in the second quarter saw a fierce marketing competition among operators. However the market is expected to stabilize as we enter the second half of 2009. Looking forward, SK Telecom plans to strengthen its core competency, which includes promoting further growth in the wireless Internet business by expanding our smartphone line-up and offering a wide variety of data plans. Adding to this, SK Telecom will also continue to focus our efforts to secure new growth drivers."