KT Targets 1.5 Trillion Won Annual Profit Despite Hacking Impact... "Growth as AX Platform Company" (Comprehensive)

Targeting 1.5 Trillion Won in Annual Adjusted Operating Profit
"Restoring Customer Trust Is Top Priority... Expanding the AX-Based Business"

KT has announced its determination to become an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Transformation (AX) platform company, aiming to achieve an annual adjusted operating profit of 1.5 trillion won (on a standalone basis).

KT Gwanghwamun Building. Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

Min Hyebyung, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), stated during the first quarter earnings conference call on May 12, "Starting in the second quarter, we plan to manage operating and selling expenses," adding, "We will strive to achieve the adjusted operating profit of 1.5 trillion won this year as well, excluding the impact of last year’s customer breach incident."

Min highlighted the expansion of the AX foundation as a core driver for growth and profitability improvement. The company plans to establish clear growth models, including industry-specific AX, hyper-personalized AX, and AX for new growth sectors. KT aims not only to provide customized B2C services, but also to expand its B2B AX business into sectors such as finance, public, and manufacturing.

Min also said, "We aim to become Korea’s leading AX platform company, spearheading AI innovation. Restoring customer trust will be our top priority, and we will strengthen our foundation through innovations in information security, networks, and IT infrastructure."

On the same day, KT announced its consolidated revenue for the first quarter was 6.7784 trillion won, with an operating profit of 482.7 billion won. Compared to the same period last year, this represents declines of 1.0% and 29.9%, respectively. The decrease was attributed to the base effect from one-off real estate sales profits last year, subscriber churn following the hacking incident, and costs related to customer compensation programs such as penalty waivers.

In the wireless business, although subscriber churn occurred in January during the penalty waiver period, the trend reversed to net growth from February, resulting in a 0.4% increase in service revenue. The wired business also saw a 0.8% increase in revenue driven by subscriber expansion. The internet and media sectors grew by 1.8% and 1.3%, respectively.

However, revenue from enterprise services declined by 2.2% year-on-year, despite the expansion of new businesses such as AI Contact Center (AICC), due to the completion of large-scale projects. KT explained that in the first quarter, it secured major public sector projects such as the disaster safety communication network, as well as AICC and cloud orders from the financial sector. Strategic collaborations with Microsoft and Palantir are also delivering new AX-related orders in the financial industry.

Among KT’s subsidiaries, KT Cloud maintained revenue levels similar to the previous year, supported by demand for data centers and AI/cloud services. KT Estate posted a sharp 72.9% year-on-year increase in revenue to 237.4 billion won, driven by increased apartment sales in Goejeong-dong, Daejeon, and robust hotel business performance. The content subsidiary achieved 1.9% growth.

KT also announced its medium-term shareholder return policy for 2026–2028 on the same day. The company will use 50% of standalone adjusted net profit as a resource for shareholder returns, combining cash dividends with share buybacks and cancellations. For this year, the minimum annual dividend per share (DPS) is set at 2,400 won, with a first-quarter DPS of 600 won. The dividend record date is May 27, and the payment date is June 11.

To realize its vision as an AX platform company, KT stated it would focus on 'solid fundamentals' and 'definite growth' as two main pillars. Min explained, "Solid fundamentals involve restoring customer trust through information security innovation, strengthening network infrastructure quality, and advancing IT infrastructure. Definite growth means expanding the AX growth model not only in B2C and B2B telecommunications, but also into new growth areas."

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