LG Uplus rose in early trading on the 10th. Buying appears to be driven by analysts' views that earnings prospects are positive as subscriptions increase on a spillover benefit after rivals suffered hacking incidents.
As of 10:04 a.m. that day on the Korea Exchange, LG Uplus was trading at 17,160 won, up 970 won (5.99%) from the previous session.
Analysts in the securities industry said that this year's LG Uplus earnings will improve significantly from a year earlier.
Lee Chan-young, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, projected that this year LG Uplus will post revenue of 15.9325 trillion won, up 3% from a year earlier, and operating profit of 1.1366 trillion won.
The analyst said, "The expanded subscriber base from a spillover benefit against competitors is feeding into long-term revenue growth," adding, "With higher utilization at the Pyeongchon 2 data center in Anyang, Gyeonggi, and additional DBO order revenue, the data center segment's top line is also solid."
LG Uplus previously benefited from a spillover of subscribers after rivals SKT and KT suffered hacking incidents.
Future growth drivers also looked positive.
The analyst said, "In the mid to long term, the Paju data center, slated to begin operations in the second half of next year, is expected to serve as an additional growth driver," adding, "With an increased share of high-margin businesses that exceed the companywide average margin of 6%–8%, profit growth will accelerate and the capacity for shareholder returns is also expected to grow."