Seoul: LG Uplus Corp. announced on Thursday that its net income for the first quarter increased by 24.6 percent compared to the previous year, driven by robust performance in its wireless and business-to-business (B2B) segments. The company reported a net income of 162.5 billion won (US$116.2 million) for the January-March period, up from 130.4 billion won the year before, according to a regulatory filing.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the earnings surpassed market expectations, as analysts had estimated an average net profit of 154.8 billion won, based on a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. LG Uplus also recorded an operating profit of 255.4 billion won, reflecting a 15.6 percent increase from the previous year, while sales rose by 4.8 percent year-on-year to 3.74 trillion won.

LG Uplus attributed its strong financial performance to several factors, including subscriber growth in its wireless and wired services, the expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven B2B infrastructure business, and effective cost-saving measures. In the mobile business segment, quarterly sales increased by 2 percent to 1.61 trillion won for the three months ending in March, as wireless service subscriptions surged by 10.7 percent year-on-year to 29.08 million.

The company's infrastructure unit, responsible for its internet data center and other B2B operations, saw revenue growth of 2.1 percent, reaching 409.7 billion won, fueled by the expansion of AI-related services such as AI data center solutions. Additionally, the smart home business unit, which includes internet protocol television (IPTV) and internet services, reported sales of 630.6 billion won, marking a 2.4 percent increase from the previous year.