KT Posts 36.1% Drop in Operating Profit Due to Base Effect... AX Business Maintains Growth

Revenue of KRW 6.68 Trillion, Operating Profit of KRW 648.3 Billion
Growth Momentum Strengthened by Expanding B2B and AX Project Wins

On August 12, KT announced that its consolidated revenue for the second quarter of this year was KRW 6.68 trillion, with operating profit at KRW 648.3 billion. Both revenue and operating profit declined year-on-year by 10.1% and 36.1%, respectively. KT explained that this was due to a base effect from one-off sales profits in the previous year. Net profit fell as a result of fines imposed for personal data breach incidents.

KT CEO Yoon Young Park is presenting the "AX Platform Company Business Strategy" on July 6 at the Eastpole Pullman Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. 2026.07.06 Photo by Dongju Yoon

By business segment, wireless business revenue came in at KRW 1.75 trillion. While service revenue was down 1.8% from the previous year due to customer rewards programs, the overall subscriber recovery trend continued. As of the end of the second quarter, 5G subscribers accounted for 83.2% of all handset subscribers. KT noted that the launch of new 5G·LTE integrated and Choice Double rate plans, which expanded customer options, was a key factor supporting this performance.

The fixed-line business posted sales of KRW 1.315 trillion, a 1.5% drop year-on-year, mainly due to a decrease in home landline use. The internet business grew 1.1%, driven by a rise in subscribers centered on gigabit internet and increased use of additional services. The media business posted a 0.5% year-on-year decline, as growth in IPTV subscribers was offset by lower advertising and PPV revenues.

The enterprise services business also saw reduced sales due to a base effect from large-scale projects that were completed last year. However, areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services, enterprise messaging, and dedicated lines continued to perform strongly. AX business revenue rose 22.3% year-on-year, driven by expanded demand for AI adoption, particularly in financial institutions, and double-digit growth at KT Cloud.

KT is strengthening its competitiveness in B2B business by expanding AX references across industries such as finance, public, and manufacturing. In the first half of the year alone, the company secured 22 contracts in financial AX projects. Among Korea’s five major commercial banks, KT is responsible for building and operating AI chatbots, consultation bots, and AICC, and is currently working on projects such as establishing AI-based development and operations systems (AIDLC).

KT Gwanghwamun Building. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Group affiliates continued to grow, focusing on core portfolios such as data centers (DC), real estate, and content. KT Cloud achieved double-digit growth (19.8% year-on-year), aided by the full-scale commencement of new DC operations in Gasan and the expansion of design, build, and operate (DBO) projects. The company completed the deployment of a Seoul-Gyeongbuk multi-region public cloud, enhancing disaster recovery (DR) and high availability while expanding its base of public sector and enterprise customers. KT Estate improved its performance with the inclusion of Dunsan development results in Daejeon and the impact of real estate sales.

KT Nasmedia also improved its performance thanks to balanced growth in digital outdoor advertising and mobile platform ads. KT Studio Genie pursued diversification in both domestic and international OTT partnerships and content distribution, based on premium original content. KT Millie’s Library continued to expand the base of readers while maintaining a dominant position in the e-book subscription business.

K Bank maintained robust momentum due to the growth of lending assets and improved net interest margin. As of the end of the first half, K Bank had KRW 26.6 trillion in deposits and KRW 19.8 trillion in loans, with the total number of customers rising to 16.45 million in the second quarter. For the second half, the plan is to boost profitability by expanding loans, particularly for individual business owners (SOHO), and improving margin further.

KT logo. Provided by KT

In a move to enhance corporate value, KT is promoting an 'AX Platform Company' growth strategy with the goal of achieving a consolidated ROE of 9-10% by 2028. The company aims to strengthen profitability, accelerate the divestment of non-core assets, and further expand shareholder returns.

The primary focus will be on AX infrastructure and solutions, with plans to more than double AX revenue by 2028 compared to 2025, and to become the AX connectivity hub of Asia. By 2031, KT intends to secure an additional 1GW of AIDC capacity and 90Tbps of submarine cable capacity. The company will accelerate rationalization of low-profit businesses and improve operational efficiency within AX by internalizing related functions. Non-core assets, including idle real estate and investments, will be liquidated at a faster pace.

Regarding the share buyback program announced in February, totaling KRW 250 billion, KT stated that it is nearing completion and will be finalized by September 9. The second-quarter dividend per share has been set at KRW 600, and will be paid on the 13th.

KT CFO Min Hye-byung said, "In the second half of the year, we will continue to focus on growth centered on core portfolios and further strengthen customer information protection and security capabilities to build trust, while consistently implementing our plans to enhance corporate value."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.