SK Telecom increased second-quarter operating profit sharply on growth in its AI data centre business and improved profitability in its telecom operations.

SKT said on Tuesday it posted second-quarter consolidated revenue of 4.36 trillion won and operating profit of 566.0 billion won.

Revenue rose 0.5 percent from a year earlier on growth including its data centre business. Operating profit increased 67.3 percent. It also reflected a base effect from one-off costs incurred last year. Second-quarter net profit was 466.0 billion won.

On a separate basis, revenue was 3.12 trillion won, operating profit was 427.7 billion won and net profit was 310.6 billion won. The second-quarter dividend was unchanged from the first quarter at 830 won per share.

The AI data centre business showed the fastest growth. Second-quarter AI data centre revenue was 136.2 billion won as utilisation increased. That was up 92.5 percent from a year earlier.

SKT set up SK Hyper last month to lead development of its AI data centre business. Its initial goal is to open AI data centres with total capacity of 5 GW in stages by 2029. SK Hyper plans to secure key AI data centre elements such as sites and power in advance and quickly boost execution capability.

In its telecom business, SKT focused on qualitative growth centred on customer lifetime value. It achieved a net increase in mobile subscribers through efforts to find new customer segments and run efficient marketing activities. Last month it launched an integrated 5G and LTE pricing plan, revamped its pricing structure and improved customers' service experience and accessibility.

Jong-seok Park (박종석), SKT's chief financial officer, said, "In the first half, we strengthened fundamentals based on stable earnings from the telecom business and laid the foundation for the AI data centre business to expand rapidly." He added, "SKT will play a leading role as South Korea advances to become an Asian AI infrastructure hub."