Seoul, Korea, 28 July 2009 - SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) announced its earnings for the second quarter of 2009: revenue of W3.068 trillion (US$2.46 billion), operating income of W553.4 billion (US$445.5 million) and net income of W311.6 billion (US$250.8 million).
The revenue climbed by 4.7% year-on-year and 6.7% quarter-on-quarter to stand at W3.068 trillion (US$2.47 billion) backed by increase in the number of subscribers and wireless Internet revenue.
The wireless Internet revenue marked W671.2 billion (US$540.3 million), expanding by 11.8% year-on-year and 7.4% quarter-on-quarter from growth in flat-rate data plan subscribers. The flat-rate data plan subscriber count reached 3.18 million, increasing by 33% year-on-year and 13% quarter-on-quarter.
Marketing expenses stood at W948.6 billion (US$763.6 million), growing by 8.3% year-on-year and 43.6% quarter-on-quarter as the market overheated in the second quarter, which drove up the subscriber acquisition cost.
Operating income amounted to W553.4 billion (US$445.5 million), representing a 3.8% increase year-on-year and a 1.9% decrease quarter-on-quarter. Despite a rise in marketing expenses, the figure edged down only slightly thanks to revenue growth. Net income reached W311.6 billion (US$250.8 million), climbing by 4.6% year-on-year and edging down by 1.6% quarter-on-quarter.
Furthermore, SK Telecom announced that it executed capital expenditure (CAPEX) of W319 billion (US$256.8 million) in the second quarter to secure WCDMA capacity and improve call quality. Cumulative CAPEX in the first half of 2009 amounted to W667.4 billion, expanding by 10% year-on-year.
The cumulative number of subscribers climbed by 5% compared to second quarter of last year to reach 23.83 million while average revenue per user (ARPU) marked W43,369 (US$34.91). Although the wireless Internet ARPU edged up by W611 (US$0.49) year-on-year, ARPU rose only by W28 (US$0.02) year-on-year due to increased customer subscription to the family discount plan named T Family Plan and other bundled products, which resulted in lower voice-call revenues.
SK Telecom's CFO Dong-Hyun Jang said, "The Korean mobile telecommunications market in the second quarter saw a fierce marketing competition among operators. However the market is expected to stabilize as we enter the second half of 2009. Looking forward, SK Telecom plans to strengthen its core competency, which includes promoting further growth in the wireless Internet business by expanding our smartphone line-up and offering a wide variety of data plans. Adding to this, SK Telecom will also continue to focus our efforts to secure new growth drivers."
