SK Telecom adds 1 million new 5G subscribers, 88% rise in income

The growth in 5G and equity gains led SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s top wireless carrier, to announce on Wednesday, that its third-quarter net income rose 88 percent on-year.

It also recorded 5 trillion won in revenue and 400 billion won in operating income during the third quarter, an increase of 5 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively, from a year ago. The telco said it saw sustained growth across all its businesses, according to a press release from the telco.

“As of the end of September 2021, the number of SKT’s 5G subscribers stood at 8.65 million, increasing by around 950,000 from the previous quarter (end of June),” the telco noted.

For future plans, SKT plans to strengthen its key business areas including AI and Digital Infrastructure Service, by building on its competitiveness in 5G, SK Telecom said.

As such, the telco said it would continue to capitalize on its 5G network to offer upgraded cloud and data center services for business customers and its latest subscription-based commerce service for consumers.

Besides its main mobile network business, the company contents, security, and contents businesses saw growth. Also, its IPTV business saw operating income jump around 21 percent year-on-year to $66 billion, which the company credited to increased subscriptions.

On the other hand, the commerce business’ operating income, meanwhile, went from $5 billion to $10 billion, with expectations from SK Telecom to have sustained growth for this segment thanks to the rollout of Amazon services on its 11th Street shopping platform.

The telco is planning to split into two entities later this month, by having SK Telecom operating as a telephone company, and the spin-off SK Square will operate the remaining technical subsidiaries of SK Telecom, including the memory giant.