Good morning and good evening. Thank you all for joining the conference call for the SK Telecom earnings results. This conference will start with a presentation followed by a Q&A session. If you have a question, please press star and one on your phone during the Q&A. Now we will begin the presentation on SK Telecom's second quarter of fiscal year 2026 earnings results.
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Good afternoon. I'm Taehee Kim, IRO of SK Telecom. Let us begin the earnings conference call for the second quarter of 2026. Today, we will first deliver a presentation on the financial and business highlights, followed by a Q&A session. Please note that all forward-looking statements are subject to change depending on various factors such as market and management situations. Let me now present our CFO.
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Good afternoon. This is Jong-seok Park, CFO of SK Telecom.
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Half of 2026 has already passed. With a commitment to restoring customers' trust, the mobile service business is showing a clear recovery with tangible results produced through various efforts to enhance customer value and improve profitability. Supported by business restructuring based on a strategy of focus and prioritization, the AI business has moved beyond the stage of setting new goals and formulating strategies, and is transitioning into the stage of full-scale execution and expansion.
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Given the rapid increase in global demand for AI infrastructure, strong execution capabilities are becoming extremely important for the AI data center business to seize market opportunities at the right time. Against this backdrop, SK Telecom has decided to establish SK Hyper, a dedicated subsidiary for AIDC business development. We will move forward quickly as an AI infrastructure designer and secure leadership in the AIDC market.
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Let me now report on the consolidated financial performance for the second quarter. Consolidated revenue posted KRW 4,359,100,000,000 , up 0.5% year-over-year, driven by the continued growth of the data center business.
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We posted KRW 566 billion in consolidated operating income, up 67.3% year-over-year on the back of the base effect from the cybersecurity incident related expenses reflected in the second quarter of 2025, and also up 5.3% QoQ, thanks to efficient cost control and profitability focused business management.
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Next is shareholder return. DPS for the second quarter is KRW 830. Even in the process of expanding growth businesses such as AIDC, we will maintain stable shareholder returns while balancing growth investment, financial soundness, and shareholder returns.
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Let me now present business highlights by business line. The mobile service business remains committed to achieving quality growth centered on customer lifetime value. While the market environment stabilized compared to the previous quarter, we continued a net add to handset subscribers focused on high-quality customers by identifying new customer segments and conducting effective marketing activities, including differentiated campaigns.
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In July, we introduced new price plans by integrating 5G and LTE price structures and simplify the overall pricing schemes, which is expected to improve customer experience and service accessibility, thereby boosting customer retention.
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Next is AI business. With the rapid adoption of Gen AI across industries and the expansion of AI demand from training to inference, demand for high performance computing infrastructure is growing significantly.
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Against this backdrop, to meet high levels of technological and operational requirements demanded by potential customers, such as global tech giants, strong execution capabilities to provide necessary infrastructure promptly are needed in addition to differentiated technological capabilities and business experience.
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By establishing SK Hyper, a dedicated subsidiary for AI DC business development, we aim to respond to changing market demand and requirements and secure rapid business execution capabilities so that we can gain an absolute competitive edge in the AI DC market.
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SK Hyper will secure core elements for business development, such as land sites and power supply, and attract global customers to develop individual projects. Going forward, starting in Ulsan, we will conduct negotiations with diverse potential customers, including global big tech companies, and accelerate business development of expanding capacity to 5 GW.
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The existing AI DC projects are also proceeding smoothly as scheduled. In the second quarter, AI DC revenue grew 92.5% year-over-year, mainly thanks to the Pangyo Data Center, and the construction of a new data center in Seoul started in May. We will continue to expand the earnings base of the AI DC business through successful construction and operation of the ongoing projects.
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SK Telecom aims to move beyond being Korea's number one telecom operator to evolve into Korea's number one AI infrastructure company.
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While strengthening business fundamentals based on stable income from the telecom business, SK Telecom will do its utmost to play a leading role in promoting Korea as Asia's AI infrastructure hub.
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We ask for the continued support and interest of our investors and analysts. Thank you.
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We would now like to begin the Q&A session.
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Q&A session will begin. Please press star one, that is star and one, if you have any questions. Questions will be taken according to the order you have pressed the number star one. For cancellation, please press star two. That is star and two on your phone.
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The first question will be provided by Eun-jung Shin from DB Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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I'm Shin Eun-jung from DB Securities. Thank you for this opportunity. I'd like to ask you two questions. First of all, you announced a plan to expand AIDC capacity in June, and you also announced a plan to establish SK Hyper in July. I'd like to understand the background behind your decision to establish a new company, and I would also like to understand the role of SK Hyper in your business. My second question has to do with potential demand for AIDC in the market. With the recent boom for AIDC, a number of companies have announced capacity expansion plans, and SK Telecom's capacity expansion plan seems to be larger than others. Do you believe that there is sufficient demand in the market for AIDC? Thank you.
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Thank you for your questions. As CFO, I will answer your question on SK Hyper. Regarding your question on AIDC demand, Lee Jae-shin, in charge of AI Business Development, will answer the question.
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First of all, let me comment on the background behind establishing SK Hyper and its role.
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In conducting AIDC business, essential prerequisites include securing lands and pipe power. We've decided to establish SK Hyper to secure these assets in a preemptive manner and create a flexible business structure where external funds can be actively utilized.
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SK Hyper is a dedicated subsidiary for AIDC business development, and its role is to acquire customers and lead business development based on the secured land, power, and water resources.
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Now, our capital contribution and commitment is KRW 750 billion, which will be used for initial business development, including securing sites in areas such as Ulsan and building substations needed for the operation of gigawatt- scale AI data center.
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Separate from the existing data center business, which is being pursued by SK Broadband, SK Hyper is a newly established entity for 15 GW AIDC business development, and it already has its own personnel and structure.
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Going forward, SK Hyper will actively utilize SK Telecom's global big tech customer network and business development capabilities, as well as SK Broadband's data center construction and operational expertise so as to maximize business synergies through active mobilization of capabilities available within the group.
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My name is Lee Jae-shin. I'm from the AI business development office. I'd like to comment on your second question regarding potential demand.
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In our view, demand for AI infrastructure is not a temporary phenomenon, but it is a structural trend driven by rising demand for inference power and expanded use of AI in the public sector and across industries. We predict that demand for AI infrastructure will continue to expand in the medium to long run.
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Global big tech companies are increasing relevant investments right now, there are limited sites that are available that have all the critical components needed to build and operate an AI data center, such as power, connectivity, and water supply. In that sense, we believe that Korea has competitiveness in meeting demand by global tech companies for AI infrastructure investment.
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We have the AIDC operation experience and competitive network infrastructure, as well as SK Group's full stack AI infrastructure assets. We believe that we are capable of responding to customer requirements.
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Currently, discussions with global tech companies are underway with respect to AI infrastructure demand, and we plan to pursue phased expansion to 5 GW capacity by responding flexibly to customer demand.
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The following question will be presented by Yoo-jin Choi from Mirae Asset Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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I'm Choi Yoo-jin from Mirae Asset Securities. Thank you for the opportunity. I would like to ask you two questions. First of all, what is the total estimated amount of investment that you're planning to make to expand your data center capacity to 5 GW ? You mentioned that your capital contribution is KRW 750 billion to SK Hyper. I'd like to know if this amount is sufficient. If there are any details you can provide, we would appreciate that. My second question has to do with the potential impact of your AIDC expansion plan on shareholder return. You mentioned earlier that you will do your best to return your shareholder return levels to the 2024 level. I wonder if there has been any change to this guidance. Thank you.
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Thank you for your question. Let me first comment on your question related to our investment plans for AIDC business expansion.
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Our initial capital commitment to SK Hyper is KRW 750 billion. But given our 5 GW expansion goal, initial investment may increase further.
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Please understand that it may be too early to discuss any specific investment plans because they are subject to ongoing discussions with potential customers with respect to their demand and requirements as well as business models and schedules.
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Following our initial investment, we plan to secure necessary funds for the actual AIDC construction and operation from financial investors and other financing schemes.
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Let me now comment on your question regarding the potential impact of AIDC investment on shareholder returns.
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As you mentioned, AIDC business requires a large amount of investment, so it is unrealistic for the company to finance the entire construction and operation of all the planned capacity.
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Therefore, we plan to utilize various external funding and financing schemes, such as investment from strategic partners as well as project financing.
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When it comes to expansion for gigawatt- level data center capacity, unlike traditional data center investment approaches, our position is to lead the project while minimizing our direct investment.
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We've committed KRW 750 billion to SK Hyper, but this year's investment amounts to KRW 330 billion, which is not too much of a burden given our free cash flow. The remaining amount will be injected in installments starting from next year.
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There may be concerns about potential change to our Capital Allocation policy after announcing our gigawatt- scale AIDC investment. As I mentioned earlier, we will secure external investments as much as possible, and direct investment will be made in consideration of financial soundness and stable dividend payouts.
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Following the first quarter, we've decided our DPS for the second quarter to be KRW 830, which is similar to the past levels. We will continue to balance investment and shareholder returns.
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The following question will be presented by Jaemin Ahn from NH Investment & Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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I am Ahn Jaemin from NH Investment & Securities. I have one question regarding your capital contribution to AI company. You've decided to contribute more than KRW 700 billion of capital to AI company. There are concerns for this decision because SK hynix already has sufficient funds to do business in the semiconductor market in the U.S. There were questions as to why or whether SK Telecom had to make this decision. I'd like to understand what SK Telecom's role will be in AI company and whether we will be able to create synergies across the group.
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Thank you for the question. I'd like to answer your question. My name is Choi Dong-hee, Head of AI Strategy Planning. In the process of AI business expansion, SK Telecom has made a number of strategic investments to secure core technology and new business opportunities.
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With the rapid development of the AI ecosystem in recent years, value of relevant companies has been increasing significantly, along with intensifying global competition to capture promising investment opportunities.
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We've decided that investing in SK hynix AI company is more effective for SK Telecom to strengthen our AI DC business competitiveness because this AI company will continue to invest in innovative AI companies utilizing their global presence and strengthening AI infrastructure value chain core competitiveness.
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As for the detailed method of capital contribution, capital contribution is paid in installment upon request so as to minimize financial impact on our earnings. Going forward, through AIDC, we are planning to acquire core technology and necessary global partnerships at the right time.
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Currently, the AI company is in the process of putting together the management team and we will participate in the board to secure capacities and networking that is needed for AI business strengthening, thereby creating synergies.
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There are one people waiting in the question queue.
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The following question will be presented by Hwae-jae Kim from Daishin Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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I'm Kim Hwae-jae from Daishin Securities. I'd like to ask you one question. You already made your statements, but I like to ask a follow-up question. As SK Telecom is moving really quickly with respect to AIDC business, there are expectations as well as concerns in the market, and that is why I'd like to ask a further question. I'd like to know whether your investment for AIDC business is based on sufficient and secured demand, or whether your approach is to make investment first and acquire or find clients later. Thank you.