KT's Q1 net shrinks 23.3 pct

SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's telecom giant KT Corp. reported Friday that its first-quarter net profit dropped 23.3 percent from a year earlier on increased costs and slowing fixed-line telephony business.

Net profit came to 215.14 billion won (US$189.2 million) in the January-March period on a consolidated basis, down from the previous year's profit of 280.59 billion won, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit, however, jumped 22.8 percent on-year to 385.13 billion won, while sales also grew 2.2 percent to 5.52 trillion won over the same period.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
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