Seoul: KT Corp., South Korea's second-largest mobile carrier, announced a significant increase in its net income, reporting a 44.2 percent rise in the first quarter compared to the previous year. This growth is attributed to the robust performance of its core business sectors.

According to Yonhap News Agency, KT Corp.'s net profit for the January-March period reached 566.8 billion won (US$403.8 million) on a consolidated basis, surpassing the 393 billion won recorded a year earlier. This achievement exceeded market expectations, with analysts estimating an average net profit of 473.2 billion won, based on a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

The company's operating profit for the quarter was reported at 688.8 billion won, a notable increase from the previous year's 506.5 billion won. Additionally, revenue saw a 2.9 percent rise, totaling 6.84 trillion won. KT Corp. credited the unexpected profit growth to a strong performance in its core telecommunications and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors, as well as a one-time income from a real estate transaction.

During the first quarter, KT Corp. experienced on-year sales growth across most of its business units. The flagship mobile business witnessed a 1 percent sales increase due to a rise in fifth-generation (5G) subscriptions, with 5G subscribers comprising 78.9 percent of the company's total mobile subscriptions. Additionally, cable sales rose by 1.3 percent year-on-year due to an increase in internet users, and revenue from media services grew by a marginal 0.1 percent.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, KT Corp. intends to focus on evolving into an "AICT" company, integrating artificial intelligence with telecommunications and information and communications technology (ICT). As part of this strategic vision, KT plans to launch a Korean-style AI model and a public cloud service in collaboration with Microsoft Corp.