SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) has reported a robust first quarter of 2023, revealing consolidated revenue of KRW 4,372 trillion, operating income of KRW 494.8 billion, and net income of KRW 302.5 billion.
The telecom giant's first-quarter revenue and operating income were up 2.2% and 14.4%, respectively, from last year, while net income jumped 37.3%.
These promising results were underpinned by the continued growth of SK Telecom's key businesses and successful investments.
SK Telecom's media and enterprise businesses showed significant growth, with revenues increasing by 10.2% and 5.8%, respectively.
Media business revenues increased to KRW 393.2 billion, and the company plans to enhance its competitiveness in this business through AI technologies.
Enterprise business revenues, driven by data center and cloud services, reached KRW 386.2 billion, a significant year-on-year increase.
With its strategic transformation into an AI-focused company, SK Telecom has driven innovation in customer and technology, time and space, AI transformation for industries, core business model, and ESG.
This includes a recent KRW 15 billion equity investment in AI startup Scatter Lab, known for its Lee Lu-da chatbot.
The partnership aims to push the boundaries of AI, developing an AI service that can alleviate loneliness through conversational engagement and a significant language model that combines emotional and knowledge domains.
The company's subscription service 'T Universe' and metaverse platform 'ifland' also showed promising performance.
T Universe' surpassed 1.8 million monthly active users in Korea in the first quarter, while 'ifland', which operates in 49 countries, attracted over 10% of its users from overseas.
SK Telecom's telecommunications business also continues to grow, with over 60% of its total subscribers now on its 5G network.
The company continues to tailor its offerings to different customer needs by introducing age-appropriate 5G price plans.
On the other hand, SK Broadband saw an increase in IPTV and broadband subscribers, strengthening its market position.
As SK Telecom transforms into a leading AI company, investors and shareholders can expect a more value-driven strategy. "We will do our best to ensure that the transformation into an AI company will lead to the maximization of corporate value and shareholder value," said Kim Jin-won, CFO of SK Telecom.
