KT Achieves Record High Revenue of 26 Trillion Won Last Year... Operating Profit Declines (Update)

2023 Annual and Q4 Earnings Announcement
5G Subscribers Account for 73% of Total
Balanced Growth in Wired and Wireless Revenue and Enterprise Services

KT achieved a record high consolidated revenue of KRW 26.387 trillion last year.

KT Headquarters / Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

KT announced on the 8th that its revenue last year increased by 2.9% from the previous year to KRW 26.387 trillion, marking the largest scale since its listing. Operating profit was KRW 1.6498 trillion, down 2.4% from the previous year. KT stated, "Operating profit declined due to the base effect from the one-time real estate sale gain (KRW 75 billion) reflected in 2022."

Revenue in the fourth quarter of last year rose 1.8% year-on-year to KRW 6.6984 trillion. Operating profit increased from KRW 151.4 billion to KRW 265.6 billion during the same period, growing 75.4% in one year.

Last year, wireless revenue reached KRW 6.8696 trillion, up 2.3% from the previous year, driven by the expansion of 5G subscribers and roaming revenue growth. Thanks to the launch of various plans and value-added services as well as new strategic devices, 5G subscribers surpassed 9.83 million, accounting for 73% of total handset subscribers.

Revenue from the wired business last year rose 1.0% year-on-year to KRW 5.2711 trillion. Although fixed-line phone revenue declined 7.6% due to decreased demand for home landlines, ultra-high-speed internet revenue increased 2.8% year-on-year as the proportion of giga internet subscribers grew. The media business saw a 2.3% increase in revenue year-on-year, driven by IPTV subscriber acquisition focused on high ARPU (average revenue per user).

KT Headquarters / Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Corporate services (B2B) business revenue also increased. Last year, revenue from corporate internet and data business grew 4.7% year-on-year to KRW 1.276 trillion, following increased traffic from corporate customers. KT explained, "The increase in digital transformation (DX) demand, along with the performance of five major growth businesses?AICC, IoT, smart mobility, smart spaces, and energy?stood out." Revenue from the five major growth businesses increased 2.4% year-on-year.

Looking at the performance of major group affiliates last year, BC Card recorded revenue of KRW 4.025 trillion, up 3.3% year-on-year due to growth in new businesses. KT Estate’s revenue rose 21.8% to KRW 594.5 billion, driven by increased office rental revenue and a strong hotel business. KT Cloud posted revenue of KRW 678.3 billion last year, a 57% increase year-on-year, thanks to previously secured public cloud projects and growth in the IDC business.

Jang Min, KT’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), said, “In 2024, we will strive to enhance both quantitative and qualitative growth through strengthening IT capabilities and fundamental business innovation, aiming to increase KT’s corporate value and shareholder value.”

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