SKT has announced its intention to accelerate its transformation into a global AI company, fueled by its strong performance last year.

SK Telecom announced on the 5th that its consolidated operating profit for 2023 would increase 8.8% year-on-year to KRW 1.7532 trillion, sales would increase 1.8% year-on-year to KRW 17.6085 trillion, and net income would increase 20.9% to KRW 1.1459 trillion. On a separate basis, operating profit would be KRW 1.4559 trillion, sales would increase 1.4% year-on-year to KRW 12.5892 trillion, and net income would be KRW 1.0597 trillion.

SKT's strong performance appears to have been influenced by the increase in 5G subscribers. While SKT announced a slowdown in 5G subscriber and wireless revenue growth, the number of 5G subscribers reached 15.67 million as of the end of 2023, representing a roughly 17% increase year-on-year. 5G customers account for over 68% of all customers. SK Broadband also secured 9.55 million paid TV subscribers and 6.93 million high-speed internet subscribers as of the end of 2023.

SKT said in a conference call held on the 5th, “The three major business areas of △AI infrastructure △AIX △AI service that we promoted under the ‘AI pyramid strategy’ announced last year have grown evenly,” and “We will show specific AI business results this year based on the technology we showcased at CES 2024.”

The AI pyramid strategy is a pyramid-shaped strategy that combines SKT's "self-reliance" model, which involves advancing AI technology and creating AI services based on it to build closer relationships with customers, and a "cooperation" model centered on the AI alliance.

SKT is expanding its IoT network orders and developing various AI products, including AICC, Vision AI, and big data. In particular, its cloud business is expected to record KRW 146 billion in revenue in 2023, a more than 30% increase year-on-year. SKT recently became the first in Korea to introduce a liquid immersion cooling system, which reduces power consumption by nearly 40%. This year, SKT is building a new AI data center and solidifying its global market presence.

AI semiconductor specialist 'Sapion' launched and commercialized the 'X330', an AI semiconductor for data centers, in November last year with over four times the computational performance and over twice the power efficiency of its predecessor. Sapion has applied its existing products to SK Broadband, NHN Cloud, etc., and at CES 2024, it discussed cooperation plans with global server manufacturer Supermicro for X330 and data center-related business.

SKT also opened a subscription-based "Enterprise AI Market" in January and is also pursuing an on-premise deployment business, aiming to lead the enterprise AI market this year.

SKT is continuously improving its multi-LLM (Large Language Model) "A.X" to evolve into a multimodal LLM. The company is demonstrating tangible results by establishing global AI platforms with partners like Entropic, OpenAI, OlgaAnise, and Conan Technologies. Furthermore, the company is expanding its telco-specific LLM globally by forming an AI alliance.

Notably, "A.," which officially launched last year, includes iPhone call recording and summarization features, which were released in October. In December, it introduced a real-time call interpretation feature for iPhone users, and it is also preparing to launch on Android in the first quarter of this year.

In addition, this year, the company plans to showcase the actual UAM aircraft of Joby Aviation of the United States for the first time in Korea in the 'K-UAM Grand Challenge' demonstration project, and to not only take the lead in the domestic business but also pursue joint entry into the global market.

CFO Kim Yang-seop said, “Last year, we strengthened our own AI capabilities and established a foundation for growth into a global AI company through global partnerships with leading AI companies around the world.” He added, “We are targeting consolidated sales of KRW 17.9 trillion this year, a growth of approximately 2% compared to the previous year. “With the growth of 5G subscribers and wireless revenue already slowing, and the internal and external environment challenging, we anticipate many challenges. However, as a global AI company, we will achieve tangible results and maximize corporate and shareholder value,” he said.

Meanwhile, the board of directors approved a dividend of 1,050 won per share for the fourth quarter of 2023. This figure, including the previously paid 2,490 won per share, will be 3,540 won per share for the year. The final decision will be made after approval at the regular shareholders' meeting in March. Furthermore, the 300 billion won treasury stock repurchase program announced in July of last year has been completed, with 200 billion won of that treasury stock being canceled today.