KT posted first-quarter consolidated revenue of 6.78 trillion won and operating profit of 482.7 billion won. Revenue and operating profit fell 1.0 percent and 29.9 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. Operating profit dropped sharply due to base effects from a one-off gain on sales last year and higher costs.

KT on Monday disclosed preliminary results for the first quarter of 2026. On a separate basis, revenue was 4.83 trillion won and operating profit was 313.9 billion won. Some costs related to a customer reward programme in place since February and an incident were reflected.

Growth in fixed and wireless businesses and an expansion in its artificial intelligence (AI) transformation business are interpreted as positive signals. KT plans to accelerate its AX business, including by upgrading its agentic AI contact centre (AICC) and offering it as a customised marketing channel.

Fixed and wireless business growth... stepping up AX for corporate clients

In its wireless business, some subscribers left during the period when it waived penalty fees after an incident involving unauthorised small-amount payments. Net additions turned positive after February, and service revenue rose 0.4 percent from a year earlier. As of the end of the first quarter, 5G subscribers accounted for 82.7 percent of all handset subscribers. KT plans to raise average revenue per user (ARPU) by preparing a wider range of Choice plans that customers want.

Fixed-line business revenue rose 0.8 percent from a year earlier on an expansion in subscribers. Internet business revenue grew 1.8 percent from a year earlier due to subscriber growth centred on GiGA Internet and increased use of value-added services. The media business saw revenue rise 1.3 percent, helped by more IPTV subscribers and increased use of premium set-top boxes.

Revenue from enterprise services fell 2.2 percent from a year earlier as major build projects ended, despite stable growth in its telecoms business and expansion of new businesses such as AICC. KT said it strengthened the foundation for future growth by securing large public-sector projects, including a disaster and safety communications network build, and winning AICC and cloud orders from the financial sector in the first quarter.

Strategic partnerships with Microsoft and Palantir are also producing early results. KT secured new orders related to AI transformation (AX), mainly from financial customers. It plans to expand its business-to-business (B2B) AX business by building references by industry, including finance, the public sector and manufacturing.

KT launched a "Customer Protection 365 Task Force" with customer trust as its top value. It is aimed at shifting to a prevention-focused customer protection system. It will prevent customer damage in advance and improve response quality through AI-based real-time detection, a one-stop resolution centre and operation of a customer listening forum. The company has been focusing on restoring trust by running a customer reward programme since February for 6 months that provides benefits across telecommunications, content and daily life.

Expanding AI data centre business... expecting double-digit cloud growth

The KT Group continued a stable performance trend centred on its core portfolio. KT Cloud recorded revenue in line with a year earlier based on demand for data centres and AI and cloud businesses.

KT Cloud will strengthen its push into the public and enterprise AI cloud market by raising utilisation at the Gasan data centre that opened in November last year, building new data centres and expanding its AI foundry business. KT said it is pushing ahead with AI data centre construction at a scale of 500 MW within 5 years, and that KT Cloud revenue will grow at the same double-digit rate as last year, it said.

KT Estate posted revenue of 237.4 billion won, up 72.9 percent from a year earlier, as sales revenue increased due to progress in its apartment presale project in Goejeong-dong, Daejeon. Higher hotel occupancy and room rates, driven by increased domestic travel demand, contributed to improved performance.

Content subsidiaries grew 1.9 percent from a year earlier despite an advertising market slowdown and the impact from the sale of PlayD. KT Studio Genie enhanced competitiveness through a lineup of premium original content such as Climax and diversification of distribution. KT Mili's Library continued to improve performance, helped by subscriber growth and an expansion in subscription-based revenue.

K Bank completed a KOSPI listing in March, strengthening its foundation for growth. As of the end of March this year, K Bank had deposits of 28.22 trillion won and loans of 18.75 trillion won. It added 540,000 new customers in the first quarter, bringing total customers to 16.07 million. Based on capital secured through the listing, K Bank will pursue entry into the small and medium-sized enterprise and small business (SME) finance market and strengthen platform competitiveness.

Assets at end-Q1 total 43.5 trillion won... minimum dividend per share of 2,400 won this year

KT's consolidated assets stood at 43.51 trillion won as of the end of the first quarter. That was up 3.1 percent from a year earlier. Liabilities were 23.52 trillion won, down 1.4 percent, and equity was 19.99 trillion won, up 9.0 percent. First-quarter capital expenditure (capex) on a separate basis was 304.2 billion won, and capex based on major group affiliates was 59.5 billion won.

It announced a mid-term shareholder return policy for fiscal years 2026 to 2028. It will use 50 percent of adjusted net profit on a separate basis as the source of shareholder returns, but will calculate the return amount based on an adjusted standard excluding non-cash and non-recurring gains and losses. It aims to reduce the impact of temporary profit fluctuations on dividend sources and improve dividend stability and predictability.

It will also maintain its existing direction of combining cash dividends with share buybacks and cancellations. KT presented a minimum annual dividend per share of 2,400 won for 2026. The dividend per share for the first quarter this year is 600 won. The record date is May 27, and the dividend will be paid on June 11.

KT previously announced in February a 250.0 billion won share buyback and cancellation plan to boost corporate value. It has been buying back shares through a trust contract for 6 months since March.

Min Hye-byung (민혜병), KT chief financial officer, said the first quarter was a period when it implemented a customer reward programme following an incident, upgraded its security system and strengthened competitiveness in its B2C and B2B businesses. He added it would continue AX-based growth under its vision of an AX platform company, improve profitability and boost corporate value.