LGU+ "Achieves Annual Operating Profit of 1 Trillion Won"... Targets 12 Trillion Won Corporate Value Within 5 Years (Comprehensive)

LG Uplus Reports Cumulative Operating Profit of 794.7 Billion KRW Through Q3
Plans to Expand Non-Telecom Revenue Share to 40% by 2027

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] LG Uplus has forecast that its annual operating profit will exceed 1 trillion won this year.

On the 4th, during the Q3 earnings conference call, Lee Hyuk-joo, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of LG Uplus, stated, "Typically, corporate sector sales tend to concentrate in the fourth quarter, and high-value subscribers in the consumer sector are steadily increasing, so we expect nearly 4% growth in sales and operating profit by the end of the year." LG Uplus recorded a cumulative operating profit of 794.7 billion won through the third quarter of this year.

Additionally, the company announced plans to expand the proportion of non-telecom sales to 40% by 2027, doubling the current level, through new businesses centered on four major platforms. Previously, LG Uplus unveiled a strategy to usher in the 'Uplus 3.0' era, focusing on four major platforms: lifestyle, play, growth care, and Web 3.0. Lee said, "We will also grow corporate value to 12 trillion won," adding, "We will expand customer corporate touchpoints and create platforms that increase customer retention time by deeply understanding customers based on data."

LG Uplus announced that its Q3 operating profit reached 285.1 billion won, a 3.0% increase compared to the same period last year. Operating revenue (sales) and service revenue (revenue excluding device sales from operating revenue) also increased compared to last year. In Q3 this year, operating revenue was 3.5011 trillion won, and service revenue was 2.84 trillion won, up 0.7% and 2.0%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Regarding the recent uncertain economic conditions, the impact on performance is expected to be minimal. Lee stated, "LG Uplus belongs to a business group that is chosen as a preferred provider by credit grantors in the capital market," adding, "The maturity structure of borrowings is also diversified, so the maturity amount of borrowings next year is about half of this year’s."

On the scale of capital expenditure (CAPEX), he said, "We expect it to be similar to the previous year," noting, "We are mainly investing in quality testing and strengthening data-based businesses." LG Uplus’s CAPEX in Q3 was 619.1 billion won, a 3.1% increase compared to the same period last year.

LG Uplus is currently reorganizing the organization to promote its platform strategy. Kwon Yong-hyun, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO, Executive Director) of LG Uplus, said, "We are concretizing the organization so that the four major platform businesses can stand independently as new businesses, and we are recruiting talent to lead them." He added, "Among the platform businesses, Idol Plus and content businesses are expected to deliver positive results next year." Idol Plus is an idol fandom platform. Lee Deok-jae, Chief Content Officer (CCO, Executive Director) of LG Uplus, explained, "The overseas customer ratio of Idol Plus, which has expanded overseas, is about 60% of the total users," adding, "Our future vision is to promote business models that apply overseas content sales and advertising."

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