SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) today announced its earnings for the third quarter of 2019 on a K-IFRS 1115 consolidated basis: revenue of KRW 4.561 trillion, operating income of KRW 302.1 billion, and net income of KRW 274.4 billion.

On a consolidated basis, SK Telecom’s revenue increased by 9.0% and operating income decreased by 0.7%, remaining similar to last year’s figures. Net income increased by 5.9% compared to the previous quarter. In particular, mobile communications business revenue edged up by 0.1% year-on-year (YoY), representing an increase for the first time in eight quarters.

Backed by expanded 5G subscriber base, mobile communications business revenue grew by 0.1% YoY and 2.1% QoQ to stand at KRW 2.486 trillion. The number of SK Telecom’s 5G subscribers exceeded 1.54 million as of the end of September 2019.

Affected by the consistent implementation of customer value innovation programs, the company achieved a low churn rate of 1.0% and ranked No.1 in the mobile communications category of Korean Customer Satisfaction Index 2019 for 22 consecutive years.

On a non-consolidated basis, operating income decreased by 18.6% YoY and 8.2% QoQ to KRW 252.8 billion due to expanded costs for 5G marketing and network investment.

For the third quarter, 45% of SK Telecom’s consolidated revenue came from businesses other than the mobile communication business. This shows that the media, security and commerce businesses have become solid drivers of the company’s growth and that SK Telecom is rapidly shifting itself from a mobile operator to New ICT company.

Media business is getting ready to take off as ‘Total Media Service’ based on strong growth of IPTV revenue. IPTV revenue for the third quarter increased by 14.0% YoY and 3.6% QoQ to KRW 333.7 billion.

In September 2019, SK Telecom has launched a new OTT media service named ‘Wavve’ by integrating ‘oksusu’ with ‘POOQ,’ and announced plans to secure 5 million paid subscribers by 2023 as well as its ambitions to enter into the global market. Moreover, it is promoting SK Broadband - t-broad merger, which is going through government approval processes.

SK Telecom’s security business revenue rose by 3.0% to stand at KRW 306.0 billion affected by the growth of SK Infosec and ADT Caps. SK Infosec and ADT Caps are expanding their sales by continuously introducing diverse new IoT services.

Commerce business revenue recorded KRW 188.5 billion on the back of profitability-focused management of 11st and increased sales of SK Stoa. Operating income stood at KRW 1.5 billion, remaining in the black for three consecutive quarters.

Through successful restructuring of its business portfolio, in September 2019, SK Telecom has been listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for 12 years in a row, gaining recognition as a sustainable global company.

In addition, with the aim to expand its New ICT business, SK Telecom recently signed a strategic partnership and agreed to a KRW 300 billion stock swap transaction with Kakao. The two companies plan to cooperate in four areas namely mobile communications, commerce, digital content and future ICT.

“SK Telecom will position itself as global New ICT company through all-round cooperation with ICT industry players including Kakao,” said Yoon Poong-young, Chief Financial Officer of SK Telecom.

※  Attachment 1.  Summary of Consolidated Income Statement  (Unit: KRW billion)

※  Attachment 2.  Summary of Non-Consolidated Income Statement   (Unit: KRW billion)

※ The conference call in regard to SK Telecom’s 3Q 2019 earnings results can be heard via SK Telecom’s webpage on Thursday, October 31, from 3:00 PM Seoul Time.

Link: http://cc.onoffjoin.com/webcast/skt/skt2019Q3_en.php