KT reported a decline in both revenue and operating profit for the second quarter of this year, attributed to the base effect from last year's real estate sales profits.
On August 12, KT announced that its consolidated revenue for the second quarter of 2026 was 6.6799 trillion won, with an operating profit of 648.3 billion won. This represents a year-on-year decrease of 10.1% and 36.1%, respectively. The net profit for the period was 480.6 billion won, down 34.5% compared to the same period last year. A KT official explained that the decrease in net profit was influenced by penalties related to personal data breaches.
On a separate basis, revenue was 4.5235 trillion won, a 5.2% decline from the previous year, while operating profit fell 17% to 389 billion won.
The official noted, "The decrease in operating profit compared to last year was due to the base effect from one-time sales profits. However, we saw an increase compared to the first quarter, thanks to the expansion of growth businesses such as data centers and real estate, as well as improved performance from our content subsidiaries."
In the wireless sector, second-quarter revenue was 1.7497 trillion won, down 1.8% year-on-year. This decline was influenced by customer churn during the customer reward program and the waiver period for penalties.
Revenue from the wired business was 1.3148 trillion won, a 1.5% decrease from the previous year. Specifically, the internet business saw a 1.1% increase in revenue to 638 billion won, driven by growth in GiGA internet subscribers and expanded value-added services. However, the media business reported a 0.5% decline to 524.5 billion won, despite an increase in IPTV subscribers, due to reduced advertising and pay-per-view revenue.
Revenue from the enterprise services sector was 901.1 billion won, down 2.3% year-on-year.
Among its subsidiaries, KT Estate, the real estate arm, showed significant growth, with revenue increasing by 80.1% year-on-year to 288.9 billion won, driven by growth in the hotel business and the recognition of sales from the Daejeon Dunsan development.
KT Cloud, a key player in the artificial intelligence data center (AIDC) business, also reported a 19.8% increase in revenue to 265.4 billion won, supported by higher operational rates at its Gasan data center and the expansion of design, build, and operate (DBO) projects.
The content subsidiaries continued to improve their performance, benefiting from a recovery in advertising and growth in content business. KT Nasmedia saw improved results due to balanced growth in digital outdoor advertising and mobile platform ads. KT Studio Genie expanded its partnerships with domestic and international online video service (OTT) providers based on premium original content and diversified content distribution. KT Mili's Library continued its operations centered on the e-book subscription business.
K Bank maintained a solid performance, supported by growth in loan assets and improved net interest margins. As of the end of June 2026, the bank's deposit balance was 26.6 trillion won, and its loan balance was 19.8 trillion won. The total number of customers increased to 16.45 million. In the second half of the year, K Bank plans to enhance profitability through expanded loans focused on small business owners and improved margins.
KT aims to accelerate its transition to an 'AX Platform Company.' The company has set a goal to achieve a consolidated return on equity (ROE) of 9-10% by 2028.
KT plans to focus on AX infrastructure and solution businesses as key growth drivers, aiming to double AX revenue by 2028 compared to 2025 and establish itself as a hub for AX in Asia. To achieve this, the company intends to secure an additional 1 GW of AIDC capacity and 90 Tbps of submarine cable capacity by 2031.
To improve profitability, KT will expand the rationalization of low-profit businesses and enhance operational efficiency through AX internalization. The company also plans to accelerate the monetization of non-core assets, including idle real estate and investment assets.
KT Chief Financial Officer Min Hye-byeong stated, "In the second half of the year, we will continue to focus on growth centered on our core portfolio while enhancing customer information protection and security capabilities to build customer trust and implement our plans to enhance corporate value without disruption."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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