SKT Pursues Leap to Become an ICT Enterprise with 5G and 5 Major Businesses
KT Launches B2B Brand and Expands Data Centers
U+ Boosts Competitiveness with 5G Content and Attracts Attention to B2G


The third-quarter 2020 earnings of the three mobile carriers have been announced. Compared to the third quarter of last year, SK Telecom and LG Uplus showed growth, while KT performed somewhat sluggishly.

All three companies saw a slight increase in MNO (mobile network operator) revenue as they secured a large number of 5G subscribers with expensive plans, but face-to-face businesses such as terminals and hotels experienced negative growth due to COVID-19.

There were also businesses that benefited from COVID-19. The three companies that ventured into the B2B business based on MNOs achieved solid results in areas such as AI solutions and IDC businesses due to the acceleration of digitalization.

Although the revenue of the three mobile carriers was still generated from MNOs, in the third quarter they were busy diversifying their businesses to break away from a revenue structure centered on telecommunications.


SK Telecom Trys to Remove 'Telecom' by Pursuing 5 Major Businesses
SK Telecom announced on the 5th that it recorded sales of 4.7308 trillion won and an operating profit of 361.5 billion won in the third quarter of this year based on consolidated financial statements. These figures represent increases of 3.7% and 19.7%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Revenue in the core MNO (mobile telecommunications) sector increased by 1.0% compared to the same period last year, reaching 2.9406 trillion won. The media, security, and commerce sectors recorded 1.5267 trillion won, an 18.9% increase compared to the same period last year. Operating profit also rose by 40.3% compared to the same period last year, surpassing 100 billion won for the first time.

An SKT official explained, “In the media business, the growth of the IPTV business and the merger with Tbroad; in the security business, the rapid launch of specialized non-face-to-face services such as AI facial recognition temperature measurement solutions; and in the commerce business, targeting non-face-to-face consumption trends led to the simultaneous growth of revenue and operating profit.”

Going forward, SKT plans to pursue an IPO for its app market 'ONE Store' next year and establish a specialized mobility company within the year based on 'T Map,' aiming to launch its fifth business following MNO, media, security, and commerce. Meanwhile, SKT is in the process of removing the word 'Telecom' from its current company name.


KT, which saw a decline in face-to-face business revenue, made up for it with non-face-to-face business.
KT announced on the 6th that it recorded revenue of 6.012 trillion won and an operating profit of 292.4 billion won in the third quarter of this year on a consolidated financial statement basis. These figures represent a decrease of 3.4% and 6.4%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

The biggest factor contributing to the decline in sales was COVID-19. Terminal sales fell by 23.9% compared to the same period last year, and due to reduced consumption and travel, sales of group companies BC Card and Estate (Hotel) decreased by 0.6% and 39.4%, respectively. Internet and wired sales also decreased by 0.3% and 7.0%, respectively.

On the other hand, compared to the same period last year, wireless revenue increased by 0.9%, and IPTV revenue rose by 11.9% following the conclusion of negotiations on home shopping transmission fees. AI (Artificial Intelligence) and DX (Digitalization) continued their growth trend, increasing by 17%.

KT unveiled its B2B brand 'KT Enterprise' on October 28 and declared its transformation into a B2B DX company by opening its 13th data center in Yongsan on the 4th.


Earnings Surprise: U+ Focuses on Securing 5G Content and B2G
LG Uplus announced on the 5th that it recorded revenue of 3.341 trillion won and an operating profit of 251.2 billion won in the third quarter of this year based on consolidated financial statements. These figures represent increases of 5.9% and 60.6%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

In the third quarter of this year, the cumulative number of subscribers for MNOs increased by 8.7% compared to the same period last year, reaching 16,265,000, while the number of MVNO (low-cost mobile phone) subscribers increased by 41.6% to 1,469,000 due to an increase in self-activation. Consequently, revenue also increased by 5.5%.

Driven by the spread of non-face-to-face culture, the smart home sector recorded 514.3 billion won, a 12.5% increase compared to the same period last year, while the IPTV sector recorded 292.6 billion won, a 13.2% growth. Internet grew by 11.6% to reach 221.7 billion won due to the increase in gigabit internet subscribers.

In the enterprise infrastructure sector as well, revenue increased by 2.7% to 334 billion won, driven by IDC sales due to rising cloud demand and the growth of the SoHo business.

In the fourth quarter, as the chair company of the XR Alliance comprised of major global telecommunications companies, U+ plans to focus on building a related ecosystem by strengthening cooperation with manufacturers such as Qualcomm and expanding the supply of AR/VR content through the carrier alliance. It also intends to expand new businesses such as convergence projects and smart factories, and secure growth opportunities in the B2G market by participating in New Deal projects.