SK Broadband swings to loss in 2008

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- SK Broadband Co., South Korea's second-largest operator of broadband Internet, said Friday that it swung to a loss i 2008, hit by higher costs and stalled sales.

Net loss reached 98.8 billion won (US$71.5 million) last year, compared with a
profit of 7.2 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory
filing.
Sales fell 0.4 percent to 1.86 trillion won and operating loss was 22 billion
won, said the company, a unit of top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co.
SK Telecom bought Hanarotelecom Inc. in September last year and renamed it SK
Broadband.
SK Broadband attributed the loss mainly to higher marketing costs resulting from
the change of the company name and identity.
The company also said it experienced a drop in subscribers after it was banned in
late June from signing new customers for 40 days due to illegal trading of
customer information. At the end of December, it had 3.15 million subscribers.
The company is due to release its earnings for the final quarter of 2008 next
Friday.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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