Amid concerns about the hacking incident involving the subscriber identification module (USIM), SK Telecom shares have been underperforming, but some evaluations suggest that there is investment appeal below 50,500 won.
Researcher Jeong Won-seok from Shinyoung Securities noted on the 7th through a report titled 'Diagnosis of SK Telecom's stock after the information leak incident' that...
Researcher Jang estimates that if SK Telecom is restricted in attracting new subscribers until June, with an assumed average of 15,000 subscribers leaving per day in May and 5,000 per day in June, the annual performance would decrease by approximately 150 billion won. Additionally, if one-time USIM replacement costs are assumed for 1 million subscribers, an expense of about 40 billion won is expected to arise.
Researcher Jang believes that considering the losses from both factors, the hacking incident, which began to flare up in earnest on the 25th of last month, could show price attractiveness starting from 50,500 won, a 13% drop compared to the closing price (57,800 won). Especially when considering the projected annual dividends per share (3,540 won), this price range would yield a dividend yield of 7%.
Researcher Jeong predicted that the burden of penalty surcharges would not reach astronomical levels. Since the amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act in September 2023, penalty surcharges can be imposed up to 3% of total revenue. Jeong stated, "Revenues unrelated to the unlawful acts may be excluded when calculating penalty surcharges, and reductions are possible depending on the severity of the legal violations," adding that "penalty surcharges will likely be imposed at levels not greatly deviating from past cases."
However, Researcher Jeong stated, "The possibility that the scale of subscriber abandonment could expand further or that restrictions on attracting new subscribers could continue is a risk factor."