KT Corp. reported its highest-ever annual revenue while profit dropped sharply due to one-time restructuring expenses as South Korea’s telecommunications leader accelerates its transformation into an AI-focused technology company.
The carrier’s consolidated revenue edged up 0.2% to 26.43 trillion won ($19.8 billion) in 2024, while operating profit plunged 50.9% to 809.5 billion won, according to a regulatory filing. Excluding one-time costs of 986.3 billion won related to workforce restructuring, operating profit would have increased 9.8% to 1.81 trillion won.
KT’s mobile service revenue grew 1.7% year-over-year, driven by 5G subscriber growth which reached 10.4 million users, representing a 77.8% penetration rate. The company’s cloud unit posted the strongest performance among subsidiaries with a 15.5% revenue jump to 783.2 billion won on increased data center usage and content delivery network traffic.
The Seoul-based company unveiled plans to return capital to shareholders through a 500 won per share dividend and 250 billion won in share buybacks. It also set an ambitious target of reaching 28 trillion won in revenue by 2025 as it partners with Microsoft Corp. to develop AI and cloud services.
“We’re seeing solid growth in our core telecommunications business while making strategic investments in AI transformation,” said a company representative. The executive highlighted plans to triple AI-related revenue by 2028 compared to 2023 levels.
Fixed-line broadband subscribers increased 1.3% to 9.96 million, while IPTV customers grew marginally to 9.45 million. The company’s real estate unit, KT Estate, saw revenue rise 1.7% on stable rental income from office and hotel properties.
