KT Corp. reported its highest quarterly operating profit since inception, reaching 1.01 trillion won ($720 million) in the second quarter, though the record was significantly boosted by asset sales rather than core business improvements.
The South Korean telecom operator’s operating profit more than doubled from the previous year, marking the first time the company has exceeded the 1 trillion won threshold. Revenue increased 13.5% to 7.43 trillion won, while net profit jumped 78.6% to 733.3 billion won.
However, the earnings included a substantial one-time gain of 390 billion won from real estate asset disposals, raising questions about the sustainability of such performance levels. The company’s artificial intelligence and information technology division grew 13.8% year-on-year to 317.6 billion won, while its core mobile business managed only modest 1.6% growth to 1.78 trillion won.
KT appears to have capitalized on competitor SK Telecom’s April data breach, which triggered customer defections. The company continues its transformation into what it calls an “AICT” entity, combining artificial intelligence with traditional telecom services.
KT Cloud, the company’s data center arm, reported 23% revenue growth driven by corporate AI demand and global co-location services, suggesting some genuine momentum beyond the property windfall.
