Seoul: LG Uplus Corp., a major mobile carrier in South Korea, reported its second-quarter net income of 217.7 billion won (US$153.5 million), marking a 0.3 percent increase from the previous year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the network operator, which is part of the LG Group, disclosed in a regulatory filing that its operating profit for the April to June period rose by 13.1 percent year-on-year to 344.5 billion won. However, sales saw a decline of 3.9 percent, totaling 3.69 trillion won.

Despite the drop in sales, the earnings exceeded market expectations. Analysts had predicted an average net profit of 198.9 billion won, based on a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.