KT Corp.'s Gwanghwamun building in Seoul (Newsis)
KT Corp.'s Gwanghwamun building in Seoul (Newsis)

KT Corp. said Tuesday its first-quarter operating profit fell nearly 30 percent from a year earlier, as the absence of one-off property gains booked last year and costs tied to a recent hacking incident weighed on earnings.

The telecom carrier reported 482.7 billion won ($325 million) in operating profit on a consolidated basis for the January-March period, down 29.9 percent from a year ago, according to a regulatory filing.

Revenue slipped 1 percent on-year to 6.78 trillion won, while net profit fell 31.5 percent to 388.3 billion won, the filing showed.

The results came in above market expectations. FnGuide had earlier forecast KT’s first-quarter operating profit at 273.8 billion won and revenue at 4.75 trillion won.

In wireless, KT saw subscriber churn during the penalty-waiver period in January, but returned to net additions from February. The unit’s service revenue still edged up 0.4 percent from a year earlier.

Revenue from fixed-line services rose 0.8 percent on subscriber growth. Internet and media revenue increased 1.8 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Enterprise service revenue fell 2.2 percent on-year, as the completion of large system integration projects offset growth in newer areas such as artificial intelligence contact centers.

KT said its strategic partnerships with Microsoft and Palantir Technologies are moving ahead, with the company stepping up its artificial intelligence transformation, or AX, business.

The company has secured new AX-related contracts mainly from financial firms and plans to expand the business into the finance, public and manufacturing sectors.

KT also announced its shareholder return policy for 2026 to 2028. Under the plan, the company will continue to use 50 percent of adjusted net income on a separate basis for shareholder returns, combining cash dividends with share buybacks and cancellations.

For this year, KT set its minimum annual dividends at 2,400 won per share. The first-quarter dividend was fixed at 600 won per share.

“We will continue to pursue AX-led growth under our vision of becoming an AX platform company, while improving profitability to enhance corporate value,” Chief Financial Officer Min Hye-byung said.


yeeun@heraldcorp.com