[Click eStock] "SK Telecom, Double-Digit Operating Profit... Dividend Party Expected"

Ebest Investment & Securities Maintains Buy Rating and Target Price of 78,000 KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Ebest Investment & Securities stated on the 6th that SK Telecom is an attractive stock considering profit improvement and dividend yield, maintaining a buy rating and a target price of 78,000 KRW.

SK Telecom's consolidated operating revenue for the third quarter of this year is expected to increase by 3.7% year-on-year to 4.4 trillion KRW, and operating profit is projected to rise by 16.6% to 458.3 billion KRW. This aligns with market expectations (457.6 billion KRW).

Researcher Lee Seung-woong of Ebest Investment & Securities said, "It appears that steady growth in mobile phone revenue and cost stabilization trends have continued," adding, "Although the Galaxy Z series was launched at the end of August, entering the device peak season, subsidies were set at the same level as the previous model. Marketing expenses increased compared to the previous quarter but are expected to maintain a declining trend compared to last year."

In the case of SK Broadband, sales are expected to increase by 6.4% to 1.1 trillion KRW, and data center sales are projected to grow at a rate in the 30% range, with all business divisions expected to grow evenly.

The researcher added, "An increase in dividends due to improved performance and dividend income received is expected to strengthen shareholder returns," and "The core telecommunications business's improved performance is estimated to result in a dividend per share of 3,600 KRW this year, and there is also a possibility of using non-operating income such as dividend income for shareholder returns like share buybacks."

He emphasized, "Following a 400 billion KRW equity swap with Hana Financial Group, annual dividend income of over 20 billion KRW is expected," adding, "The retained earnings of the subsidiary SK Broadband have turned positive, enabling dividend payments, and cash assets have increased to 596 billion KRW, making this an expected time for dividend distribution."

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