SK Telecom has revealed that it made an investment of KRW 917.8 billion (+56.7 percent) in network infrastructure in Q2 2020 alone. The company’s total investment in the first half amounts to KRW 1.224 trillion, representing a 33.5 percent increase.
SK Telecom posted revenue of KRW 4.603 trillion (+3.7 percent), operating income of KRW 359.5 billion (+11.4 percent), and net income of KRW 432.2 billion (+66.8 percent) in the second quarter of 2020.
SK Telecom said its revenue and operating income grew, backed by steady growth of its new businesses and improved performance of its mobile communication business.
The total revenue of new businesses, namely media, security and commerce, have increased by 13.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
SK Telecom generated revenue of KRW 918.4 billion (+16.2 percent) from media business,
KRW 323 billion (+8.7 percent) from security business and KRW 192.6 billion (+8.5 percent) from commerce business.
SK Telecom’s revenue for its mobile communication business increased 3.2 percent to KRW 2.940 trillion. Despite increased investment in 5G and impact of the pandemic, the company solidified its leadership in the 5G market.
SK Telecom’s 5G subscriber base reached 3.35 million, with the addition of 700,000 new 5G subscribers during the second quarter.
Covid-19 epidemic impacted the 5G business of the mobile service provider. SK Telecom is expecting improvement in profit thanks to its differentiated efforts, including widened contactless sales points and the launch of 5G smartphones with quantum enhanced cryptography.
The company launched the Galaxy A Quantum, the world’s first 5G smartphone equipped with a quantum random number generator chipset, in May 2020.
SK Telecom said its 5G B2B businesses will generate about KRW200 billion worth of new business opportunities over the course of the next three years.
SK Telecom is targeting 5 million paying subscribers in 2023 as well as revenue of KRW500 billion.
“Our diversified business portfolio centered around new businesses is delivering tangible results even as the COVID-19 continues to grip the nation,” said Yoon Poong-young, chief financial officer of SK Telecom.