Yuanta Securities Korea said on the 20th that for SK Telecom, earnings growth at SK Broadband and an increase in the equity value of U.S. generative artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic are expected.
At the same time, it maintained a "Buy" investment opinion and raised the target price to 118,000 won from the previous 100,000 won. The previous trading day's closing price of SK Telecom was 98,300 won.
Lee Seung-ung, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Korea, said, "On Jan. 1, with a competitor waiving penalty fees, mobile phone (handset) subscribers are understood to have recovered to 160,000, partially recouping the wireless subscribers lost due to the recent cyber breach," and added, "Earnings growth at SK Broadband is expected thanks to top-line expansion in data centers (acquisition of Pangyo DC) and fixed-line (internet, IPTV), and reduced labor costs from voluntary retirement."
Yuanta Securities Korea projected SK Telecom's first-quarter consolidated revenue this year at 4.4 trillion won and operating profit at 503.4 billion won. Year over year, revenue would fall 1.7% and operating profit 11.3%. However, it said the results should meet market expectations (revenue 4.4 trillion won, operating profit 512.8 billion won).
In particular, the impact on mobile revenue from a decline in wireless subscribers will continue through the second quarter this year, and SK Broadband's operating profit is expected to come in at 102.4 billion won.
For the full year, SK Telecom's revenue is expected to be 17.7 trillion won and operating profit 1.8 trillion won. Year over year, revenue would rise 3.3% and operating profit 71.6%.
It also estimated that the equity value of Anthropic, in which SK Telecom invested in 2023, will continue to rise.
Yuanta Securities Korea analyzed that the equity value of SK Telecom's stake in Anthropic expanded to 3.5 trillion won from the previous 2.1 trillion won. It also said Anthropic's corporate value has risen to $800 billion–$1 trillion and SK Telecom's equity stake is understood to be 0.3%.
The analyst said, "Considering Anthropic's global investor demand and earnings growth, sustained increases in equity value are expected," and added, "With profit recovery, dividends are also expected to return to their usual level."