KT's operating profit last year surged more than threefold from a year earlier. It reflected one-off real estate sales gains and base effects from labor spending. Subscriber numbers rose on a net basis despite an unauthorized small-payment incident.

KT said on Monday it posted consolidated revenue of 28.24 trillion won and operating profit of 2.47 trillion won in 2025. Revenue rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit climbed 205 percent due to factors including real estate sales gains from the development of its Gangbuk headquarters site.

On a standalone basis, KT posted 2025 revenue of 19.32 trillion won and operating profit of 1.31 trillion won. That was up 4 percent and 276.6 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. In the fourth quarter of the same year, one-off costs including SIM card purchases incurred during its response to a security incident partly affected profitability.

B2C and B2B business growth; net subscriber gains despite unauthorized small-payment incident

KT's wireless business revenue last year was 6.85 trillion won. It rose 3.3 percent from the previous year as the company expanded mid-priced and lower-priced plans and grew its subscriber base. As of the end of 2025, 5G subscribers accounted for 81.8 percent of total handset subscribers.

KT said it recorded net subscriber gains last year despite the unauthorized small-payment incident. About 230,000 subscribers left following a waiver of cancellation fees, but annual subscribers increased on a net basis. KT said, "These net gains will serve as a foundation for generating wireless revenue in 2026," and added, "With market stagnation making it difficult to expect double-digit growth in the wireless business, we aim to protect profitability through customized innovation."

Wireline business revenue rose 0.8 percent from a year earlier to 5.31 trillion won, helped by an increase in gigabit internet subscribers. Enterprise service revenue rose 1.3 percent despite the rationalisation of low-profit businesses, driven by stable growth in its CT business and rising AI and IT demand.

KT strengthened its ability to respond to the AX market by launching 'Mideum K,' developed with its own technology, the Korea-tailored AI language model 'SOTA K' based on a partnership with Microsoft, and the security-focused cloud service 'SPC (Secure Public Cloud).' It is also expanding data and AI business opportunities centred on the financial sector in collaboration with Palantir.

Growth in key portfolio including cloud, data centres and real estate

KT Cloud's revenue rose 27.4 percent from a year earlier, driven by growth in its data centre and AI and cloud businesses. As it expanded AI and cloud orders, centred on the public sector, it opened the Gasan AI Data Center in November last year, the first in South Korea to apply a liquid cooling system.

KT Estate said revenue and operating profit rose from a year earlier as it expanded mixed-use development and leasing, improved performance in its hotel segment and advanced a training institute development project in Daejeon. It said the completion of the mixed-use development project on the Gangbuk headquarters site contributed to improved results.

Content subsidiaries maintained revenue at the previous year's level, centred on KT Studio Genie, KT Nasmedia and KT Millie's Library, despite a slowdown in the advertising market and the sale of some subsidiaries. KT Studio Genie introduced major content such as 'New Recruit 3' and 'Good Woman Busemi,' while KT Millie's Library saw revenue grow on rising subscribers.

K Bank secured 2.79 million new customers in 2025, bringing its customer base to 15.53 million. As of the end of December last year, deposits totalled 28.4 trillion won, unchanged from a year earlier. Loans totalled 18.4 trillion won, up 13.0 percent from a year earlier. K Bank is preparing for an initial public offering after passing a preliminary listing review in January.

Response to unauthorized small-payment incident; company-wide information security strengthened

The financial impact from the unauthorized small-payment incident last year was not significantly reflected. Only some costs from follow-up measures after the incident, including SIM replacement costs, were recognised in advance. The impact from the incident is expected to be fully reflected starting with this year's results.

Jang Min (장민), KT's chief financial officer, said regarding a 450 billion won customer rewards package, "That amount is not immediately recognised in full as an expense," and added, "The extent of reflection may vary depending on the scale of customers' benefit usage."

Jang added, "For costs that occurred in 2025 or are certain to occur in 2026, we have already recognised them as 2025 expenses," and said, "For additional costs this year, we plan to handle appropriate accounting treatment through consultation."

KT said it conducted a full review of its information security system following the unauthorized small-payment incident. It is reorganising its security organisation and governance centred on an information security innovation task force directly under the CEO. It is strengthening the chief information security officer system and integrating and upgrading security functions that had been dispersed.

KT plans to strengthen key capabilities in stages through information security investment of about 1 trillion won over the next 5 years, including expanding its zero-trust security system and upgrading integrated security monitoring. It will also conduct regular and ongoing inspections reflecting external experts and international security standards to minimise blind spots and continuously upgrade company-wide prevention and response systems.

Fourth-quarter dividend of 600 won; 250 billion won share buyback announced

KT decided on a cash dividend of 600 won per share as shareholder returns for its 2025 year-end results. It maintained the same level as in the first to third quarters despite the impact of the security incident. The annual dividend per share for 2025 was 2,400 won, up 20 percent from a year earlier. The annual dividend yield was 4.6 percent as of Dec. 30, 2025. The record date for the year-end dividend is Feb. 25, and the dividend will be paid after approval at the regular shareholders meeting in March.

As part of its corporate value enhancement plan, KT will pursue a total of 1 trillion won in share buybacks and cancellations from 2025 to 2028. It will also proceed with a 250 billion won share buyback and cancellation through August 2026. Immediate cancellation is restricted as KT's foreign ownership ratio has reached the legal limit of 49 percent, but the 250 billion won in shares will be bought on the premise of cancellation.

Total shareholder returns for 2025, combining KT's total dividend payout and its share buyback amount, was 831 billion won, with the shareholder return ratio at about 78 percent.

KT said it meets the requirements for a high-dividend company as of 2025, so a separate dividend income tax will apply to dividends paid after Jan. 1 this year. The separate dividend income tax is a system that taxes dividend income separately rather than combining it with other financial income such as interest income. KT investors can expect an improvement in after-tax dividend returns.

Jang said, "We apologise for causing concern to customers, shareholders and investors due to the 2025 security incident," and added, "Based on stable fundamentals, we implemented our shareholder return policy and value-up plan without disruption."

He added, "Based on our core telecommunications business and AX growth engines, we will continue growth and corporate value enhancement in 2026."