"Reflecting TPS Marketing Costs" KT Skylife Q2 Operating Profit 19.4 Billion KRW... Down 20.7% YoY

KT Skylife Q2 Earnings Announcement

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] KT Skylife announced on the 10th through a disclosure that its operating profit based on separate financial statements for the second quarter of this year was 19.355 billion KRW, a decrease of 20.7% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, sales amounted to 161.158 billion KRW, down 4.3%, and net profit also decreased by 19.2% to 15.833 billion KRW. However, compared to the previous quarter, sales increased by 3.2% (5 billion KRW), and operating profit and net profit rose by 4.5% (900 million KRW) and 2.8% (400 million KRW), respectively.

Although total sales in the second quarter of this year decreased compared to the same period last year due to the termination of the funeral service combination business, service sales increased by 4.3% (3.7 billion KRW) year-on-year as internet and mobile subscribers grew. In particular, among new mobile subscribers, the activation of high-rate unlimited data plans resulted in potential quarterly sales of 1.65 billion KRW from new subscribers, marking a 75.5% growth compared to the same period last year and continuing the upward trend in service sales.

Operating profit and net profit declined year-on-year due to marketing expenses for TPS (Triple Play Service: paid broadcasting, internet, mobile) products following the full-scale launch of the mobile business and the base effect from content contracts in the fourth quarter of last year. However, sales growth in internet and mobile services led to a 4.5% increase in operating profit and a 2.8% increase in net profit compared to the previous quarter.

The total number of subscribers combining broadcasting, internet, and mobile in the second quarter of this year reached 4.26 million. Despite a net decrease in OTS subscribers, skyTPS (skyTV, internet, mobile) subscribers increased by 68,000, resulting in a net increase of 17,000 subscribers compared to the previous quarter.

skyTV, a satellite broadcasting-only product, saw a net increase of 12,000 subscribers, achieving three consecutive quarters of net growth following the fourth quarter of last year. Internet new subscribers in the second quarter numbered 32,000, showing steady growth with a net increase of 24,000 compared to the previous quarter. Additionally, skylife Mobile, launched in October last year, recorded 34,000 new subscribers in the second quarter, a 26% increase from 27,000 in the previous quarter, attracting 10,000 new subscribers per month and entering a full-scale growth trajectory.

The bundling rate of internet and mobile services centered on skyTV also maintained consistently high figures. The ‘30% Discount Home Bundle’ plan, which offers discounts on fees instead of gifts, continued to receive positive market responses, with the DPS bundling rate?subscribers who subscribe to broadcasting along with internet?maintaining over 90% at 97.4%. The bundling rate of mobile and broadcasting subscriptions also increased to 14.1% compared to the previous quarter, indicating a shift in the sales product structure toward bundled products.

The second quarter also highlighted the performance of Skylife’s subsidiary, Skylife TV. Based on separate financial statements, Skylife TV recorded sales of 17.9 billion KRW, operating profit of 3.7 billion KRW, and net profit of 2.5 billion KRW in the second quarter. Thanks to the success of original content such as ‘Steel Troops’ and ‘Aero Couple’ and the resulting advertising growth, sales increased by 28% (4 billion KRW) and operating profit rose by 129% (2.1 billion KRW) compared to the same period last year, achieving excellent results.

In particular, the success of original content led to revenue from broadcasting rights sales and video-on-demand (VOD) sales, and the rise in viewership translated into advertising revenue for the channel. Skylife TV achieved its highest quarterly advertising revenue of 9 billion KRW since its founding, recording a cumulative operating profit of 6.9 billion KRW for 2021, surpassing last year’s total operating profit of 6.7 billion KRW in just two quarters.

Yang Chunsik, Head of Management Planning at KT Skylife, stated, “As a TPS operator capable of providing comprehensive wired and wireless services to the entire nation, we will continue to strengthen product and service quality so that more customers can enjoy high-quality broadcasting and telecommunications services at reasonable prices.” He added, “We also plan to expand investments so that our subsidiary, Skylife TV, can grow into a successful content business operator through the production of diverse original content.”

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