KT Corp. like two other South Korean wireless carriers finished the first half ended June strong with record six-month top line, although its bottom line retreated from higher costs to suggest further deterioration in the second half.

The company’s consolidated revenue came to a record 12.6 trillion won ($9.6 billion) in the January-June period, up by 4.4 percent from a year ago. Sales for its second quarter grew 4.7 percent to 6.31 trillion won. But operating profit for the second quarter fell by 3.5 percent on year to 459.2 billion won, with net profit down 2 percent to 363.4 billion won.

The factors behind the strong sales result include an increase in 5G subscribers, tangible results from its DIGICO (digital platform company) strategy, and growth in fresh B2B orders.

Sales growth in the second quarter was also notable for other telcos such as SK Telecom and LG Uplus. SK Telecom reported 459.6 billion won in operating profit over sales of 4.28 trillion won in the quarter. LG Uplus said its consolidated revenue grew 1.2 percent on year to 3.38 trillion won in the quarter.

Second-half prospects may not be good for Korean telcos as strong inflation would affect its 5G-based operations on top of their planned capex for networking upgrades.

Shares of KT finished 0.5 percent up at 35,450 won.

By Lee Jae-cheol and Minu Kim

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]