KT Corp. eyes 24 tln won in 2009 sales after merger

SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- KT Corp., South Korea's top phone and Internet company,
said Monday it expects its sales to rise 26 percent on-year to 24 trillion won
(US$19.2 billion) this year on diversified services that combine mobile and
fixed-line telephony.

Its operating profit is likely to reach 2 trillion won this year, up from an
earlier estimate of 1.8 trillion won, KT said in a statement marking the official
start of its operations as a new entity after completing a merger with mobile
unit KTF Co.
The company also said it will seek to record 27 trillion won in total sales in 2012.
The merger created a telecom giant with 24 trillion won in assets and a workforce
of 38,000.
KT controls more than 90 percent of South Korea's wired telephone market and
services nearly 45 percent of broadband Internet users, while KTF had a nearly 30
percent share of the mobile phone market, compared with South Korea's No. 1
mobile carrier SK Telecom Co.'s 50 percent.
Shares of KT were trading at 36,000 won as of 1:33 p.m., up 5.88 percent from the
previous session.
In 2008, KT's net profit plunged 54 percent to 449.3 billion won, with sales
falling 1.3 percent to 11.7 trillion won. KTF posted a net profit of 164.6
billion won, with sales climbing 14.4 percent to 8.35 trillion won.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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