LG Uplus posted strong fourth-quarter results, driven by higher revenue from its artificial intelligence (AI) data center business and an increase in mobile subscribers following the KT hacking incident.
◇ Operating profit up 20% on-year in the fourth quarter… subscriber gains from KT hacking incident
LG Uplus said on Feb. 5 that fourth-quarter operating profit under consolidation for 2025 came to 170.5 billion won, up 20% from a year earlier. Revenue for the period was 3.8484 trillion won, up 2.5% on-year. LG Uplus said, "AI data center business revenue and the increase in mobile subscribers drove strong fourth-quarter results." The industry believes subscriber inflows to LG Uplus were largely due to a spillover benefit from the KT hacking incident that erupted in September last year.
Mobile business revenue in the fourth quarter last year was 1.6894 trillion won, up 3.4% from a year earlier. During the same period, the number of mobile subscriber lines rose 7.7% on-year. Excluding Internet of Things (IoT) lines and MVNO (budget phones) lines, "MNO service average revenue per user (ARPU)" in the fourth quarter last year was 35,999 won, up 1.8% from 35,356 won a year earlier.
Fourth-quarter AI data center business revenue last year was 135.03 billion won, up 51.6% from a year earlier. Solution business revenue for the same period was 185 billion won, up 16.6% on-year. Smart home business revenue, including internet TV (IPTV), also showed strong performance. Smart home institutional sector revenue in the fourth quarter last year was 649.03 billion won, up 4.8% from a year earlier.
◇ Annual revenue tops 15 trillion won for the first time
On an annual basis, LG Uplus recorded revenue of 15.4517 trillion won and operating profit of 892.1 billion won last year. Revenue rose 5.7% from a year earlier, and operating profit increased 3.4%. The main drivers cited were an increase in high-value subscriber lines such as mobile subscribers and giga internet, and strengthened growth in the AI data center business through entry into the DBO (design, build, operate) business.
Last year, mobile institutional sector revenue rose 3.7% on-year to 6.6671 trillion won, supported by growth in subscriber lines and improved customer satisfaction. The increase in mobile institutional sector revenue was largely influenced by the SK Telecom and KT hacking incidents that surfaced last year. From Apr. last year to Jan. 13 this year, LG Uplus recorded a net increase of about 337,000 subscribers. This contrasts with a decrease of about 520,000 subscribers at SK Telecom over the same period. Inside and outside the industry, there are forecasts that LG Uplus' mobile market share, currently at 19.7%, could surpass 20% in the first half of this year.
Including MVNO, the total number of wireless subscriber lines reached 30,711,000, surpassing 30 million for the first time. MVNO lines have posted double-digit growth of more than 10% for seven consecutive years since 2019. Total net additions were 2,196,000 lines.
Last year, corporate infrastructure institutional sector revenue, which includes AI data centers, solutions, and corporate lines, rose 6% on-year to 1.8078 trillion won. The AI data center business led corporate infrastructure institutional sector results. Along with stable growth of its own data centers and entry into new DBO (design, build, operate) businesses, AI data center revenue last year rose 18.4% from 2024 to 422 billion won. Solution institutional sector revenue, which includes smart mobility, NW solutions, and relay messaging businesses, was 550.3 billion won, up 4.5% from 2024 on increased network build-outs. Corporate line business revenue also rose 1.6% on-year to 835.5 billion won.
Yeo Myeong-hee, LG Uplus chief financial officer (CFO) and chief risk officer (CRO), said, "This year, we will accelerate structural improvements focused on profitability while strengthening the fundamental competitiveness of the telecommunications business," adding, "To sustain last year's positive momentum, we will increase resource investment in future growth and fundamentals, and do our best to achieve the company's sustainable growth and enhance shareholder value."