(LEAD) KT Q2 net up over 70 pct on 5G growth

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SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Tuesday its second-quarter net income rose 77.4 percent from a year earlier on the back of robust growth of 5G network subscribers as well as its media content businesses.

Net income for the April-June period stood at 370.8 billion won (US$322.9 million) on a consolidated basis, compared with 209.1 billion won the same period the previous year, according to a company statement.

Operating income reached 475.8 billion won, up 38.5 percent over the cited period, while revenue rose 2.6 percent to 6.03 trillion won.

The telecom giant cited broad growth across its businesses for the improved bottom line.

KT's wireless service revenue rose 4.5 percent on-year to 1.69 trillion won in the second quarter thanks to increasing 5G subscribers.

As of the end of the second quarter, KT's 5G subscriptions stood at around 5 million, compared with 4.4 million the previous quarter.

The telecom operator added that its artificial intelligence and digital transformation division, which includes its internet data center business, saw solid growth, with sales rising 6.2 percent on-year to 137.2 billion won in the April-June period.

Revenue from KT's content subsidiaries, which include media production-focused KT Studio Genie, rose 16.3 percent to 211.8 billion won over the same period.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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