Published : Feb. 2, 2016 - 14:18
Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said Tuesday its net profit fell 15.8 percent on-year in 2015 due mainly to losses from an equity investment in an affiliate.
Net profit came to 1.5 trillion won (US$1.24 billion) last year, compared with a net profit of 1.7 trillion won posted a year earlier, SK Telecom said in a regulatory filing.
(Yonhap)
Sales moved down 0.2 percent to 17.1 trillion won over the cited period, while the operating profit also moved down 6.4 percent to 1.7 trillion won.
The yearly net profit hovered slightly below the median estimate of 1.65 trillion won suggested by Korea's 17 brokerage houses, according to the data compiled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.
SK Telecom said the on-year decline in net profit is attributable to losses from its 22-percent stake in SK hynix Inc., Korea's No. 2 chipmaker.
Sales plunged due to discounts in subscription fees and the abolishment of enrollment charges on new clients, the company said.
SK Telecom added the operating profit fell due to one-off personnel expenses following its retirement program. Its affiliates also expanded its charity efforts throughout last year.
The company, however, implied its profitability improved on the back of the increasing number of long-term evolution (LTE) service subscribers. SK Telecom said the number of LTE subscribers came to 18.9 million, taking up 66.3 percent of all its users as of end-2015. The figure compares to 59.2 percent posted a year earlier.
Throughout 2016, SK Telecom said it will bolster next-generation businesses for sustainable growth.
Last year, SK Telecom struck a deal to buy CJ Hellovision, the country's biggest operator of cable channels and Internet TV content, and plans to merge the firm with its wholly owned subsidiary SK Broadband Co.
SK Telecom added it will continue efforts to roll out more exclusive budget smartphones such as the LUNA throughout this year.
SK Telecom sold around 150,000 units of the budget smartphone, manufactured by a lesser-known local tech firm TG&Co. in 2015, amid the rising popularity of affordable smartphones in the country.
Shares of SK Telecom traded 1.16 percent lower at 213,500 won as of 11:48 a.m., when the market fell 0.44 percent. The fourth-quarter result was released during trading hours. (Yonhap)