Operating profit fell 5.3 percent from a year earlier to 537.6 billion won, with the operating margin narrowing to 12.2 percent from 12.7 percent a year earlier. The result came in ahead of the market consensus, with analysts polled by FnGuide projecting full-year operating profit of 1.89 trillion won — implying a quarterly run rate of roughly 470 billion to 480 billion won. Net profit declined 12.5 percent year on year to 316.4 billion won.
AI data center revenue surged 89.3 percent year-on-year to 131.4 billion won, driven by higher utilization rates at its Gasan and Pangyo facilities and expanding GPU-as-a-Service demand. The company said it plans to deepen its push into the enterprise AI market through a newly established unit reporting directly to the CEO, while on the consumer side, it will integrate its AI agent service "A." with its own foundation model to improve performance.
The AI-driven rebound came alongside a recovery in wireless subscribers. The hacking incident, disclosed last year, triggered a loss of approximately 600,000 subscribers. SK Telecom reversed that trend in the first quarter, adding a net 210,000 handset subscribers, with mobile service revenue rising 1.7 percent from the prior quarter as membership reforms and improved customer benefits drew users back.
Fixed-line subsidiary SK Broadband posted revenue of 1.15 trillion won and operating profit of 116.6 billion won, up 3.2 percent and 21.4 percent, respectively, from a year earlier, supported by high-speed internet subscriber growth.
The company also announced the resumption of quarterly dividends, setting a payout of 830 won per share for the first quarter. Shares of SK Telecom closed at 93,400 won, down 2.2 percent on the day.
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