SKT records 1.11 trillion won in operating profit
From Q1 2019 due to the increasing trend of 5G subscribers
Mobile phone sales continue to rise


SK Telecom announced on the 7th that, based on K-IFRS, it recorded annual revenue of 17.7437 trillion won, operating profit of 1.11 trillion won, and net profit of 861.9 billion won in 2019.


Revenue reached an all-time high on an annual basis, increasing 5.2% year-on-year. Operating profit fell 7.6% year-on-year due to factors such as increased investment in 5G networks, including 5G frequency costs. Net profit decreased by 72.5% due to the impact of equity method gains from SK Hynix.


MNO revenue rebounds since Q2 last year
SK Telecom's annual revenue on a separate basis recorded 11.4162 trillion won, a 2.5% decrease from the previous year due to factors such as an increase in subscribers to selective contract discounts. However, with mobile phone revenue continuing to rise since the second quarter of last year, driven by increased data usage and the growing trend of 5G subscribers, revenue is expected to rebound this year.

SK Broadband's IPTV business revenue recorded 1.2985 trillion won, up 10.7% from the previous year, driven by the expansion of premium subscribers and increased content usage. In 2019, it achieved a net annual increase of 464,000 subscribers, bringing the total number of IPTV subscribers to 5.19 million.

The security business, consisting of ADT Caps and SK Infosec, achieved sales of 1.1932 trillion won, a 17.4% increase year-on-year, and an operating profit of 153.5 billion won, a 21.9% increase. In the commerce business, both 11st and SK Stoa succeeded in turning their annual operating profits into a surplus.


Enhancing corporate value through MNO and New Business
SK Telecom announced that it forecasts consolidated revenue of 19.2 trillion won this year, based on its MNO business, which is making a comeback with the expansion of the 5G market, and its media, security, and commerce businesses, which are continuing their solid growth.

SK Telecom plans to strengthen the competitiveness of its 5G services and further develop its B2B models in the MNO business this year through cooperation with various domestic and international operators. SK Telecom's 5G subscriber count stood at 2.08 million as of the end of last year and is expected to reach 6 to 7 million by the end of this year.

In the media business, the merged entity of SK Broadband and Tbroad will be launched at the end of April, emerging as a comprehensive media operator with 8 million paid broadcasting subscribers. WAVVE, launched in a joint venture with the three major domestic broadcasters, plans to focus on strengthening its premium content capabilities, including the production of original content.

In the security business, we plan to accelerate growth by expanding converged security products, unmanned parking, and home security, and by introducing advanced technology-based services such as senior care.

The commerce business, having successfully turned a profit, will continue its sound management practices this year while rapidly adapting to changes in the market environment. 11st plans to expand partnerships to strengthen differentiated product competitiveness and establish itself as a more advanced 'commerce portal' that adds fun to shopping searches.

In addition, last year, the homegrown app market 'ONE Store' was valued at 500 billion won and attracted 100 billion won in new funds, and the e-sports team 'T1' received an investment of 41 million dollars to jointly establish a global e-sports company, laying the groundwork for the growth of new businesses.

SK Telecom CFO Yoon Poong-young stated, “This year, we will have our corporate value re-evaluated in the market with our two major growth engines: a rebounding MNO and continuously growing New Biz.”