KT Q3 net plunges 37 pct on subscription drop, weak won

SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- KT Corp., South Korea's largest fixed-line operator, reported Friday that its third-quarter earnings tumbled 37 percent from a year earlier on a drop in subscribers and a weaker won.

Net income amounted to 161.4 billion won (US$125 million) in the July-September
period, compared with 257.4 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a
regulatory filing.
Sales fell 1.5 percent on-year to 2.91 trillion won, and operating income fell
2.25 percent to 329 billion won.
The loss was attributed to a 4.5 percent drop in its subscription base due to the
increasing usage of over-the-Internet and mobile phones, KT said.
Also responsible was the won's plunge against the greenback, which raised its
foreign-debt service costs. The won has fallen 31 percent against the dollar so
far this year, becoming the worst-performing major Asian currency.
The company plans to maintain its investments and dividends for next year at a
level similar to 2008, Maeng Su-ho, head of KT's finance division said in a
conference call.
"We plan to achieve our initial goal of reaching 1.2-trillion won of operating
profit by increasing marketing of combined products and preventing the erosion of
our subscription base," said Maeng.