This file photo, taken July 23, 2020, shows the logo of LG Uplus Corp. at its headquarters in central Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean mobile carrier, said Friday its second-quarter net profit grew 40 percent thanks to the continued growth of 5G mobile subscriptions and its business infrastructure division.
Net profit in the April-June period stood at 210.5 billion won (US$184.2 million) on a consolidated basis, compared with 150.6 billion won the previous year, according to a company statement.
Operating profit rose 12 percent on-year to 268.4 billion won in the second quarter, while sales increased 2.2 percent to 3.34 trillion won over the cited period.
The mobile carrier said sales from its wireless division grew 5.7 percent on-year to 1.5 trillion won in the second quarter thanks to continued subscriber growth.
LG Uplus’ total wireless service subscribers, including those from its subsidiary LG HelloVision Corp., stood at 17.2 million as of the end of June, up 8.4 percent from the previous year despite the termination of its 2G network service in June.
Users on 5G more than doubled on-year to reach 3.7 million over the same period, keeping the company on track to reach its goals of 4.5 million users on the latest generation network this year.
In a conference call, the company said it expects even more 5G users later this year with new phones launching. Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to unveil its new foldable smartphones next week.
The mobile carrier added that its business infrastructure division, which includes internet data centers, logged robust growth, with sales reaching 388.8 billion won in the second quarter, up 12.7 percent from the previous year.
LG Uplus has recently stepped up investment in internet data centers, committing over 300 billion won in May to build a new facility by 2023.
Sales from the telecom operator’s smart home business, which includes its internet protocol TV and high-speed internet services, stood at 538.7 billion won in the second quarter, up 8.9 percent from the previous year.
The company’s IPTV subscriptions grew 9.4 percent on-year to reach 5.17 million.
LG Uplus said it is still in talks with Walt Disney Co. over the launch of streaming service Disney+ on the telecom operator’s IPTV service and that nothing has been finalized.
Disney has said the streaming service would enter the South Korean market sometime this year.
Shares in LG Uplus fell 1.02 percent to 14,600 won Friday, underperforming the broader KOSPI’s 0.18 percent loss. The company reported its earnings before the market’s close.
(Yonhap)
