SK Telecom Q1 net dips 17.3 pct on higher costs

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SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- SK Telecom Co., South Korea's leading mobile carrier,
said Thursday its net profit fell 17.3 percent in the first quarter from a year
earlier on increased costs.
Net income stood at 316.8 billion won (US$240 million) in the January-March
period, compared with 383 billion won a year ago, the company said in a
regulatory filing. Its bottom line, however, was up 20.4 percent from three
months earlier.
Sales rose 1.4 percent to 2.88 trillion won, while operating profit rose 1.8
percent to 564 billion won, it said.
Shares of SK Telecom were trading at 186,500 won as of 11:30 a.m., down 0.27
percent from the previous session.
The company attributed the drop in the bottom line to an investment of 348.4
billion aimed at securing third-generation wireless capacity and improving call
quality.
Also responsible were increased foreign exchange losses and interest rate
fluctuations, SK Telecom said.
The company said that the South Korean mobile telecommunications market continued
to stabilize in the first quarter of 2009, despite the ongoing global recession,
with its cumulative number of subscribers climbing by 4 percent to reach 23.35
million.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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