[Click eStock] "SKT Steady External and Internal Growth... Target Price Maintained"

Daishin Securities evaluated SK Telecom on the 9th as "recording steady growth in both scale and substance." They also maintained a target price of 77,000 KRW and a buy rating.

On the same day, Kim Hoe-jae, a researcher at Daishin Securities, stated, "SK Telecom's Q3 revenue this year was 4.4 trillion KRW, and operating profit was 498 billion KRW, up 1% and 7% respectively compared to the same period last year."

In particular, the growth in wireless revenue, which recorded 2.7 trillion KRW, stood out. Although the second quarter saw a slowdown due to marketing support for MVNOs, from the third quarter onwards, the number of subscribers focused on 5G increased, improving the growth rate. The 5G market share was 48.1%, surpassing the overall wireless market share of 47.5%. The average net increase market share this year is 48.6%, and further market share growth is expected.

Marketing expenses were 750 billion KRW, down 2% from the same period last year. At 23.8% of sales, it was below the post-5G introduction average of 25.7%. Depreciation expenses were 610 billion KRW, accounting for 19.5% of sales, also below the post-5G introduction average of 21.3%.

SK Broadband (SKB)'s operating profit was 83.4 billion KRW, up 5% compared to the same period last year. SKB's operating profit this year is expected to improve to 330 billion KRW, about five times the level before its transition to a non-listed company.

Researcher Kim said, "SKB's growth and profit improvement are thanks to steady growth in media and rapid growth in B2B (business-to-business) centered on data centers (IDC)." He added, "In particular, IDC will play an important role in SK Telecom's AI pyramid strategy by expanding capacity more than twice by 2030." Related revenue is expected to expand from 160 billion KRW last year to 350 billion KRW by 2026.

He continued, "SK Telecom is the most proactive in shareholder returns," explaining, "In addition to the basic dividend, this year they are acquiring 300 billion KRW worth of treasury stock and canceling 200 billion KRW. Total shareholder returns amount to 1 trillion KRW based on treasury stock acquisition, approximately 10% from the starting point." He also said, "Based on cash generation capability, dividends from SKB and investment companies will be used for shareholder returns, with a total resource of at least 850 billion KRW to be used concurrently for dividends, treasury stock acquisition, and cancellation." He added, "Since the treasury stock policy announcement expected in August, the stock price has risen 5%, significantly outperforming the index during the same period. Next year, an active shareholder return policy including dividends and treasury stock at 8-9% will be a strong driver for the stock price."

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