Seoul: LG Uplus Corp., a major mobile carrier in South Korea, announced a slight increase in its second-quarter net income compared to the previous year, while achieving a record-breaking operating profit for any quarter.

According to Yonhap News Agency, LG Uplus reported a net income of 217.7 billion won (US$153.5 million) for the April-June period, marking a 0.3 percent rise from the same period last year. The telecom operator's regulatory filing revealed that its operating profit surged 13.1 percent on-year to reach 344.5 billion won, setting a new quarterly record. However, the company's sales saw a decline of 3.9 percent, totaling 3.69 trillion won.

The better-than-expected earnings were primarily driven by the growth in LG Uplus's corporate infrastructure business, particularly its artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. The company also highlighted its efforts in cost management and profitability improvement as contributing factors. Revenue from the corporate infrastructure business increased by 8.6 percent on-year, reaching 464.4 billion won for the quarter, while the AI data center sector experienced a significant income boost of 28.9 percent.

In the mobile division, LG Uplus maintained stable growth with sales increasing by 0.9 percent to 1.66 trillion won. The company is in the process of building a 200-megawatt capacity AI data center in Paju, north of Seoul, which is expected to become one of the largest AI-related infrastructures in the greater capital area.

Additionally, LG Uplus plans to enhance its AI contact center system with large language model-based solutions by the second half of the year. This upgrade aims to expand its business beyond the financial sector. In an effort to enhance corporate value, the telecom operator conducted approximately 90 billion won worth of stock buybacks last month and increased its interim dividend to 270 won, an 8 percent rise from the previous year.