KT Corp has revealed that it achieved growth in mobile ARPU and mobile service revenue in 2019 due to the launch of 5G service.

KT’s total revenue rose 3.8 percent to KRW 24,342 billion. Service revenue of KT grew 1.3 percent to KRW 20,246.3 billion, thanks to the improved wireless service revenue backed by 5G success.

Operating profit dropped 8.8 percent to KRW 1,151 billion due to increases in 5G marketing expenses during the initial launching period. Marketing expenses increased 18.4 percent. Its operating expense rose 4.54 percent to KRW 23,191 billion.

KT’s net income fell 12.2 percent to KRW 669.3 billion and EBITDA rose 5.1 percent to KRW 4,776.7 billion.

Capex spent in 2019 was KRW 3,256.8 billion.

KT is expecting revenue of KRW 25 trillion and Capex of KRW 3.1 trillion in 2020.

Meanwhile, KT has revealed that Hyun-mo Koo will be the next CEO of KT.

KT’s 5G subscriber base reached 1.42 million in 2019. KT is expecting that 5G subscribers will grow to around 25 percent to 30 percent.

Wireless service revenue and ARPU, which had earlier declined due to tariff discount, have been growing every quarter with the increase in the 5G subscriber base. Wireless ARPU in Q4 has increased 2.1 percent.

KT’s 5G coverage has reached 85 cities in South Korea. KT aims to focus on improving the quality of its services to subscribers by expanding the in-building coverage, centered around public places and large buildings. KT will be launching the 5G HD service within this year.

KT will expand 5G B2B business by leveraging the security and network performance. KT is also working with partners to identify use cases for 5G B2B. KT has already identified 150 use cases.

KT has secured 53 enterprise customers for the 5G B2B business. Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Electronics, among others, are its 5G B2B clients. Hyundai will be building the world’s first 5G shipyard. Samsung will develop the world’s first dedicated corporate 5G build service.

Baburajan K