Operating profit exceeded 1 trillion won for 5 consecutive years
8.8% decrease year-on-year due to 5G infrastructure construction
5G standalone mode to be introduced within this year


KT joined the '1 trillion won operating profit club' for five consecutive years.

KT announced on the 6th that its sales in 2019 were 24.342 trillion won and operating profit was 1.151 trillion won based on K-IFRS consolidated standards. Sales increased by 3.8% year-on-year due to growth in wired and wireless communication businesses including 5G and media businesses. Operating profit decreased by 8.8% year-on-year due to increased costs such as network investment and marketing.

Wireless business sales increased 0.2% year-on-year to KRW 6.9707 trillion. Of this, wireless service sales rebounded on an annual basis, recording KRW 6.5663 trillion, up 0.7% year-on-year due to an increase in 5G subscribers.

Fourth quarter wireless ARPU (average revenue per user) decreased by 0.3% year-on-year and 1.8% quarter-on-quarter as accounting standards changed to deduct membership point usage from sales. Fourth quarter ARPU calculated using the conventional method grew by 2.1% year-on-year and 0.6% quarter-on-quarter due to the expansion of 5G subscribers.

The total number of wireless subscribers increased by 800,000 for the year to 21.92 million, and the number of 5G subscribers increased to 1.42 million, accounting for 10% of all postpaid mobile phone subscribers. The 5G unlimited rate plan 'Super Plan' was chosen by more than 82% of all 5G customers.

Wireline business sales decreased by 1.0% year-on-year to KRW 4.6971 trillion. The wireline business, which once recorded an 8% annual sales decrease, is gradually improving its performance every year as the decline in wireline phones is slowing and gigabit internet is growing.

The number of subscribers to Giga Internet, the main Internet product, has increased for five consecutive years, growing to 61% of all ultra-high-speed Internet subscribers. Driven by the steady increase in subscribers, ultra-high-speed Internet sales recorded KRW 2.157 trillion, up 0.9% year-on-year.

Media and content business sales increased 13.5% year-on-year to KRW 2.74 trillion. The total number of subscribers to KT's 'Olleh TV', the No. 1 domestic pay TV service, increased to 8.35 million. As additional service sales also increased, separate media sales continued to grow by 15.4% year-on-year, continuing double-digit growth. In the content sector, group companies continued to grow, including the increase in Genie Music subscribers and the growth of KTH's T-commerce business, and related sales also increased by 23.1% year-on-year.

Financial business sales decreased by 1.0% year-on-year to KRW 3.4118 trillion due to the reduction in BC Card's domestic merchant fees, and other service sales recorded KRW 2.4267 trillion, similar to the previous year, as the Internet Data Center (IDC) business performed well, but the real estate sales that were in progress were completed.

Annual CAPEX execution amounted to KRW 3.2568 trillion, up 65% year-on-year, as network investment, including 5G base stations, expanded. As of February, the number of 5G base stations has exceeded 71,000 based on opening standards, and services are being provided in 85 cities, counties, districts, and neighborhoods across the country.

This year, we plan to significantly expand indoor coverage, focusing on major buildings closely related to daily life, while improving service quality by introducing 5G standalone mode (SA).

Accelerating business innovation based on AI. ‘Giga Genie’ is popularizing voice-based media usage with over 2.14 million subscribers, and the recently launched mobile media ‘Seezn’ is leading the way in intelligent media usage with AI-based hyper-personalized content.

5G convergence services such as smart factories, realistic media, and intelligent security, which are expected to grow in the future, also plan to further increase their competitiveness by utilizing AI.