[Click eStock] "SKT to Achieve Profit Turnaround Faster Than Expected"

Hana Financial Investment Issues 'Buy' Rating and Sets Target Price at 330,000 KRW... Closing Price on 14th at 217,500 KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] Hana Financial Investment has issued a 'Buy' rating and set a target price of 330,000 KRW for SK Telecom, anticipating that the company will achieve an operating profit turnaround in the second quarter faster than initially expected. The closing price on the 14th was 217,500 KRW.

According to Hana Financial Investment on the 15th, SK Telecom's second-quarter earnings are estimated at 4.4899 trillion KRW in revenue and 329.1 billion KRW in operating profit. These figures represent an increase compared to both the same period last year and the previous quarter.

Kim Hong-sik, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, explained, "One-time costs are expected to be minimal and cost control has been well executed," adding, "From the third quarter onward, a steeper profit growth is expected, marking the beginning of a solid earnings improvement trend. This is due to the increase in net 5G mobile service subscribers along with a larger revenue growth margin."

Next month, shareholder return policies are expected to become a major issue. The interim dividend to be announced ahead of the second-quarter earnings release and the shareholder return scale for this year, which will be revealed during the second-quarter earnings conference call, are likely to attract significant market attention. Researcher Kim stated, "The total shareholder return scale is expected to be no less than last year, and the possibility of share buybacks cannot be ruled out," adding, "Executing a shareholder return scale not less than last year will raise expectations for SK Telecom's long-term earnings improvement, and pursuing share buybacks will contribute to stock price stability as well as increase expectations for governance restructuring next year."

Researcher Kim also forecasted a rise in the stock price driven by growing expectations for 5G success. He said, "Following China, Japan and the United States have begun actively recruiting 5G subscribers, increasing global investors' interest in 5G. Domestically, the Digital New Deal policy was announced recently, and with the launch of 5G strategic phones in August and September, the net increase in 5G subscribers is expected to grow significantly. From the end of the year, the evolution toward the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to become visible, fostering expectations for 5G success."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.