Securities firms raised or maintained their target stock prices on the 17th, citing expectations that KT will continue its solid earnings growth this year. There were also analyses indicating that a significant portion of the increased earnings will be utilized for shareholder returns.
Ahn Jae-min, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, maintained a 'buy' recommendation for KT and kept the target stock price at 60,000 won. He projected that KT's operating profit will increase by 17% year-on-year to 2.12 trillion won.
He noted, "The telecommunications sector is experiencing reduced pressure on capital expenditures (CAPEX) as investments in 5G tail off," and added, "The personnel restructuring carried out last year will reduce labor costs, and the sale of the 'advanced business complex development' project at Guro Station will be reflected in operating profit."
KT confirmed an annual dividend of 2,000 won for the last business year and announced an additional buyback of 250 billion won. In response, Ahn stated, "KT will utilize a significant portion of its profit growth for shareholder returns this year," predicting that the dividend per share in 2025 will be 2,600 won (dividend yield 5.5%).
In the last quarter of the previous year (October to December), KT recorded service revenue of 5.75 trillion won and an operating loss of 655.1 billion won, affected by one-time expenses. Ahn commented, "The operating loss was due to about 1 trillion won in voluntary retirement expenses," adding that the revenue was solid with wireless services at 1.72 trillion won, corporate services at 856.5 billion won, and KT Cloud at 221 billion won.
Hyundai Motor Securities adjusted its target stock price for KT upward from 47,000 won to 55,000 won while maintaining a 'buy' rating. They noted that operating profit, excluding one-time expenses, performed well compared to industry performance.
Kim Hyun-yong, a researcher at Hyundai Motor Securities, analyzed, "The revenue from wireless services in the fourth quarter increased by 0.1% year-on-year, and subscriber growth slowed but was defended by increasing average revenue per user (ARPU)." He added, "In the case of wired services, internet revenue increased by 0.8% and media revenue by 3% year-on-year, maintaining steady growth despite a maturing market."