![[종합] The three mobile operators’post-communication’ is not in vain New growth field growth’explosion’](http://img.lb.inews24.com/facebookexternalhit/face/626x352/image_gisa/202102/1612413100713_1_175857.jpg "[종합] The three mobile operators’post-communication’ is not in vain New growth field growth’explosion’")
[아이뉴스24 송혜리 기자] It is no exaggeration to explain that last year was the first year of’decommunication’ among the three mobile communication companies. The three mobile telecommunications companies all achieved tangible results in the non-communications field and started moving their business weight in earnest.
SK Telecom has moved away from being a’big tech company’, and the contribution of new ICT business divisions such as media and security soared to 24%.
KT recorded the lowest performance last year among the three companies due to the impact of the group companies hit by the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), but sales of separate services thanks to the growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation (DX) business fields It exceeded 15 trillion won in 9 years.
This pattern is the same for LG U+, and LG U+ IPTV revenue recorded more than 1 trillion won for two consecutive years, and IDC business revenue increased 16.1% year-on-year, leading the growth of the corporate infrastructure sector.
With the end of KT on the 9th, the three mobile telecommunication companies announced their earnings in the fourth quarter of last year. Last year, the three companies made significant achievements in new business areas such as enterprise and media, as they accelerated the transition to a platform company beyond communication.
SK Telecom’s’New ICT’ played a role in driving performance last year.
On the 3rd, SK Telecom announced that it recorded annual sales of 18,6247 billion won, operating profit of 1.3493 billion won, and net profit of 1.5 trillion won last year based on the consolidated financial statements of K-IFRS.
In particular, SK Telecom’s new ICT’s operating profit totaled KRW 326.2 billion, and its share of total operating profit increased from 14% in 2019 to 24% last year. It started contributing to sales performance in earnest.
In the new ICT area last year, SK Telecom established five business divisions and strengthened growth engines through ▲Merger of SK Broadband and TVroad ▲Establishment of Tmap Mobility ▲ADT Caps-SK Infosec merger.
The core of the new ICT performance was the media business. SK Broadband recorded a sales of 3.73 trillion won due to the merger of Tbroad and increased IPTV subscribers, up 17.2% year-on-year. Operating profit reached 239.3 billion won, a 59.2% increase over the previous year.
In the security business, core businesses such as dispatch security and information security, and new businesses such as home, parking, and untact solutions, grew evenly, recording sales of 1.3386 billion won, up 12.2% from the previous year.
Commerce businesses such as 11st and SK Store achieved double-digit growth and operating profit surplus based on the trend of online shopping activation and increased transaction volume. Sales increased 12.1% year-on-year to 8142 billion won, and operating profit recorded 11 billion won, achieving a surplus for the second consecutive year following the previous year.
This pattern was also seen in KT. KT accepted a somewhat depressing report card on a consolidated basis as sales of group companies affected by Corona 19 were holding back, but service sales on a separate basis exceeded 15 trillion won due to the growth of platform business revenue. This is the appearance of the results of the efforts to prepare new growth engines.
In particular, AI·DX business sales increased 11.8% year-on-year, showing the most explosive growth among all KT business areas. In particular, IDC and cloud businesses recorded double-digit growth last year as companies accelerated digital transformation.
In addition, the’AI Contact Center (AICC)’ service using KT’s AI voice recognition technology is expanding to various industries such as large corporations, financial companies, and educational institutions, and blockchain sales are the amount of local currency issued by local governments to strengthen local commercial districts after Corona 19. With this increase, it has grown nearly 7 times compared to 2019.
IPTV also continued to play a leading role in KT’s sales growth by increasing platform-based sales. Sales increased by 7.7% year-on-year, and continued net increase in subscribers by strengthening service competitiveness through expansion of alliances, solidifying the No. 1 position in the pay-TV market.
LG Uplus also recorded good results thanks to the even growth of telecommunications and new industries. In particular, the’smart home’ division consisting of IPTV and high-speed Internet generated a profit of 2,134 trillion won, an increase of 9.9% from the previous year.
Of these, IPTV revenue increased by 10.9% year-on-year to KRW 1.14 trillion, thanks to the continued growth of subscribers, and recorded more than KRW 1 trillion in revenue for the second consecutive year following last year. Differentiation strategies, such as segmenting users by household and reinforcing kids content, led to an increase in subscribers, and IPTV subscribers reached 4944,000, a 10.4% increase over the previous year.
The high-speed Internet business also made a stride in improving smart home performance by achieving 8.6% year-on-year revenue of 8682 billion won due to the increase in subscribers following the launch of a competitive rate plan.
In the corporate infrastructure sector such as e-Biz, IDC, network solution, SME solution, corporate Internet, and leased line, the performance of the IDC business led to an increase in overall revenue. Last year, corporate infrastructure revenue was aggregated to 1.359 trillion won, an increase of 3.5% from the previous year. Among them, IDC business revenue was found to be 227.8 billion won, up 16.1% over the previous year.
Reporter Song Hye-ri [email protected]