SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, on Thursday reported a 13.5-percent drop in its third-quarter operating profit on the impact from the Galaxy Note 7 problem and more subscribers using contract-based mobile fee discounts.

SK Telecom's operating profit amounted to 424.3 billion won ($372 million) during the July-September period, down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, according to its consolidated balance sheet.

Its revenue also fell 0.4 percent on-year to 4.24 trillion won, while net profit shrank 15.6 percent to 322.1 billion won, the Seoul-based firm said in a regulatory filing.

The company's sales were hit by the recall and terminated sale of Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy Note 7 phablets and a growing number of budget-oriented customers.

Compared with the previous quarter, however, its operating and net profits rose 4.2 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively.

SK Telecom officials said the third-quarter performance is regarded as meeting the market's expectations in general.

They stressed the company is focusing on preparing for future businesses such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and cutting-edge transportation services based on the T-map global positioning system. (Yonhap)