SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (KRX:017670)
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87,300
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Sep 22, 2026, 3:30 PM KST
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Earnings Call: Q2 2020

Aug 6, 2020

Jeong Hwan Choi
Investor Relations Officer, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Good afternoon. I'm Jeong Hwan Choi, the IRO of SK Telecom. Today's conference call will consist of the presentation on the earnings results for Q2 of 2020, and the future management plans and strategic direction by Poong-Young Yoon, CFO, and Head of Corporate Center 1, and Hyung-il Ha, Head of Corporate Center 2, followed by a Q&A session.

Jeong Hwan Choi
Investor Relations Officer, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Under the dual operating system, the achievements and strategic plans for M&O will be provided by Poong-Young Yoon, Head of Corporate Center 1, and Hyung-il Ha, Head of Corporate Center 2, will discuss that of the new business division.

Jeong Hwan Choi
Investor Relations Officer, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Today's conference call will provide consecutive interpretation, and we also have here with us executives from relevant business divisions to help deepen your understanding. Before we begin, we want to remind you that all forward-looking statements are subject to change depending on the macroeconomic and market situations. Let me now present our CFO.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Good afternoon. This is Poong-Young Yoon, CFO of SK Telecom. Let me first discuss the consolidated earnings highlights for Q2 of 2020.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Consolidated revenue for Q2 2020 recorded KRW 4,602.8 billion. The even growth of M&O, media, security, and commerce, as well as the effect of the acquisition of t-broad led to a 3.7% year-on-year and 3.4% quarter-on-quarter growth.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Consolidated operating income recorded KRW 359.5 billion. Thanks to efficient marketing and company-wide cost-cutting efforts, it grew by 11.4% year-on-year and 19.0% quarter-on-quarter.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Net income recorded KRW 432.2 billion, growing by 66.8% year-on-year and 40.8% quarter-on-quarter, thanks to higher equity method income on SK hynix.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Let me now discuss major business achievements and strategic plans for each business division.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Non-consolidated M&O revenue for Q2 recorded KRW 2,939.8 billion. A growing 5G subscriber base led to a 3.2% year-on-year increase and 0.6% increase quarter-on-quarter.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

M&O operating income recorded KRW 270.3 billion. While marketing costs and depreciation and amortization costs increased compared to the previous year, our revenue growth overcame the gap, allowing us to maintain a similar income level to that of last year. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, lower marketing and other major costs led to a 4.8% decrease.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

As of the end of June, our 5G subscriber count recorded 3.35 million, meaning that we welcomed 700,000 new 5G subscribers during the quarter. Despite Covid shrinking the market overall, our differentiated efforts, including widened contactless sales points and launching 5G smartphones with quantum enhanced cryptography have accelerated 5G subscriber net adds.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

We've also recently announced the official launch of the Xbox Cloud Gaming service, which SKT and Microsoft cooperated on. Among the 22 countries where the service will be launching, Korea is the only country in Asia. As an exclusive operating partner, SK Telecom is planning to provide a monthly fee-based service through which users can enjoy over 100 games on the cloud. We will do everything in our power to bring a completely new 5G experience to our users.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Media business, based on consolidated revenue of SK Broadband, recorded KRW 918.4 billion. With the acquisition of t-broad, which was completed on April 30th taking effect, as well as continued IPTV subscriber growth, it increased by 16.2% year-on-year and by 11.5% quarter-on-quarter. Operating income recorded KRW 60.8 billion. Through enhanced cost efficiency on top of the acquisition effect, it grew by 44.8% year-on-year and by 62.6% quarter-on-quarter.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Security revenue recorded KRW 323 billion. With ADT Caps seeing stable subscriber net adds and new business growth, as well as SK Infosec recording higher solution revenue, the number grew by 8.7% year-on-year and by 10.8% quarter-on-quarter. Although operating income fell by 12% year-on-year due to cost related to COVID-19 response measures, it increased by 17.2% quarter-on-quarter, thanks to revenue growth and new businesses gaining a firmer foothold.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Commerce business recorded KRW 192.6 billion in revenue. Thanks to 11st and SK stoa's significant GMV growth, it increased by 8.5% year-on-year and 1.2% quarter-on-quarter. Operating income recorded a KRW 2 billion surplus. While 11st recorded a deficit similar to that of the previous quarter due to increased marketing, SK stoa's larger surplus allowed us to maintain the BEP.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

The Head of Corporate Center 2, Mr. Ha, will walk you through the achievements and plans for the new businesses.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Good afternoon. I am Hyung-il Ha, Head of Corporate Center 2.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Let me now discuss the achievements and strategies for the new business division for Q2 of 2020.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

First, the media business.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

With the acquisition of t-broad, bringing in over KRW 95 billion in revenue for the effective two months, SK Broadband not only grew significantly, but also saw a meaningful improvement in its operating margin from 4.5% in the previous quarter to 6.6% for Q2. The company also recorded 8.4 million pay TV subscribers with 3 million cable TV users coming in.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

In B2B, our preemptive investments to respond to the growing online education demand led to revenue growth, and we expect continued growth in the future.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

SK Broadband will continue to strengthen its competitiveness through stronger bundled products and content, synergies between distribution channels, and enhanced investment efficiency.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

I'd like to discuss the achievements of the security business.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

ADT Caps saw continued revenue growth despite the challenging environment due to COVID-19 by effectively responding to the situation. Increase in CMS service subscribers and growth of new businesses such as home security led to the revenue growth.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Going forward, ADT Caps will enter the technology-based new security service market in full force. It will strengthen its new ICT-based businesses such as smart thermal cameras, various home security products, and walk-through security solutions. Three years from now, we expect these new businesses to represent over 10% of the company's total business.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

SK Infosec is solidifying its leadership position in the information security industry based on the growth of its consulting solution and control service businesses. We are also going to strengthen growth businesses such as cloud and quantum security.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Moving on to commerce business.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

11st saw a stronger growth trend, recording a 19% growth in GMV for the second quarter year-on-year, higher than the market average. Going forward, we will maintain the current cost efficiency, aggressively adapt to the contactless consumption trend, and expand external partnerships, thereby continuing the growth momentum.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

SK stoa, our T-commerce arm, recorded a 64% year-on-year increase in GMV in Q2 through optimized product offering, diversified sales channels, and stronger sourcing capabilities. It has also seen a significant operating income growth, nearing its goal of becoming the leading T-commerce company within the year. We expect SK stoa to continue the high growth trend.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Lastly, I'd like to discuss the achievements of our app market subsidiary, ONE store.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

With strong price competitiveness, ONE store recorded growth for eight consecutive quarters. Games, in particular, have seen a significant market growth, recording a 39% year-on-year increase in transaction volume. Profit-wise, ONE store's operating income turned to black for the first half of the year.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

It is currently preparing to enter the Southeast Asian market as well through a game platform joint venture with Singtel and AIS, number one telcos in Singapore and Thailand, respectively.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

SK Telecom will continue to achieve meaningful results in the new ICT field.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

I will now hand it back to the CFO. Thank you.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

The interim dividend for 2020 has been decided at KRW 1,000 by the board of directors meeting held in July.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

While the amount remains the same, the amount was decided as a way of sharing a part of our dividends collected from listed subsidiaries with our shareholders. This year's amount was decided based on the dividend paid out by SK hynix in late April, and we will be maintaining the shareholder return policy of reflecting dividends collected from stable listed subsidiaries going forward.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

With masks and contactless environment now the norm, the government, society, and citizens are overcoming these challenges together. Connection and communication through MNO, entertainment and comfort through media, safety and trust through security, and convenience and diversity through commerce have become more important than ever. We will do our utmost to strengthen these values and achieve change and growth with a heavy sense of responsibility.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

We ask for the continued interest and support from our investors and analysts. Thank you.

Jeong Hwan Choi
Investor Relations Officer, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Operator

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Now, Q&A session will begin. Please press one and four if you have any questions. Questions will be taken according to the order you have pressed the number, one and four. Please press one and five if you want to cancel your questions.

Operator

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

The first question will be provided by Hoi Jae Kim from Daishin Securities. Please go ahead.

Hoi Jae Kim
Analyst, Daishin Securities

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Hi, thank you for the opportunity. The first question is regarding your shareholder return policy. In the past, you've talked about various options, including DPS, payout, and share buyback. Have any of them become more developed? I'd like to hear about more details regarding your shareholder return policy. The second question is regarding the schedule and plans that you have for the IPOs of your subsidiaries. I'd like to hear about what candidates you may have, when you are thinking of doing the IPOs, and also what are your priorities. I just want to ask one more question. SK Broadband has recorded a historic income now. Aside from the acquisition effect of t-broad and aside from IPTV, have you seen any significant improvements or achievements in its B2B business?

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Thank you, Mr. Kim, for your questions.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

I'll be answering your first question regarding the shareholder return policy, then I'm going to hand it over to Mr. Ha to answer the rest of your questions.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

The basic guideline or direction that we want to aim our shareholder return policy towards is considering the profitability of MNO, as well as sharing the achievements that we have generated from our new businesses with our shareholders. As a way to do that, we decided to reflect the regular dividends collected from our listed subsidiaries.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Based on those principles, this year's interim dividend was decided based on about 50% of the regular dividends paid out by our listed subsidiary, SK hynix.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Currently, while SK hynix is the only listed subsidiary that pays out regular dividends, we are planning IPOs of SK Broadband and ADT Caps and other subsidiaries. Once these subsidiaries are listed and they pay out a regular dividend, then we believe SK Telecom shareholder volume will be increased accordingly.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

As for the year-end dividend, this will be linked to our M&O achievements to go about in a stable manner, and we will do our best to maintain the level to that of what we have currently.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Unrelated to such changes, if we believe that our stock price continues to be undervalued, we will review options for a share buyback.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

I will now have Mr. Ha answer your question regarding IPO.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

The new ICT subsidiaries of SK Telecom are not only creating value in their own respective areas of business, but they're also growing through the synergies that are created between businesses.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

As for the IPOs of our subsidiaries, we are going to take into consideration the earnings of each respective company as well as the financial market environment, and we are going to review it in a manner that can be beneficial to all of the company's shareholders.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

With ONE store and ADT Caps on the lead, we are also considering IPOs of Wavve, SK Broadband, and 11st.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Currently, the IPO plans are being strategized per each invested company, and we will push forth with the schedule with the companies that become fully prepared.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Let me now address your additional question regarding the other new businesses achievements aside from IPTV.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

SK Broadband has actually continued for quite some time to see its B2B business grow for quite some time. With the growing online education demand, as well as more people working from home, we are seeing more revenue increase on IDC and Solution side.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Currently, SK Broadband is carrying out enhancing and expanding its IDC. We are hoping to launch that by next year. Once that is completed, we believe that there will be significant improvement in IDC related revenue.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Thank you.

Operator

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

The next question will be presented by Jaemin Ahn from NH Investment & Securities. Please go ahead.

Jaemin Ahn
Analyst, NH Investment & Securities

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Hello. Thank you for the opportunity to ask questions. My first question is regarding how much t-broad contributed to your earnings for this quarter. You did briefly mention how much it did, but I'd like to hear about the breakdown between revenue and operating income, and also what kind of synergies you expect during the second half of the year, as well as your marketing strategy. The second question is: We saw the Note 20 was disclosed to the world yesterday, and consumers will now be able to make reservations to get their Note 20 beginning tonight. In the second half of the year, there will be quite a number of devices newly launching and including your 5G devices. What will the marketing situation be in the second half of the year?

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

First, thank you, Mr. Ahn, for your question.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Let me first answer your question regarding t-broad.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

With the merger of t-broad being complete during Q2 two months' worth of t-broad's earnings were reflected on that of SK Broadband. Through the M&A, in terms of revenue, it was a KRW 95 billion plus.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

We believe that from the second half of the year, when t-broad's earnings will be coming in in full scale, and when we will be able to see the merger synergy take effect, we strongly believe that SK Broadband's earnings will grow even further.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Our current outlook is that based on the M&A with t-broad, it will be representing over 10% of revenue of SK Broadband and over 20% in terms of operating income for SK Broadband during the second half of this year.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Going forward, we will be utilizing the widened or expanded distribution channel and be utilizing cross-selling as well as the fixed mobile integrated services that take into account the cable users as well. We expect this to lead to greater marketing efficiency and we will be also expecting greater increase in revenue through efforts including IPTV and cable TV integrated ad sales, as well as stronger digital cable TV content.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Alongside with that, being able to share our network infrastructure will lead to enhanced investment efficiency, and there will also be a very efficient resource management due to integrated operation of our IT systems as well. We believe these will all lead to greater profitability.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

As for your second question, I will hand it over to the CFO.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Since the fourth quarter of 2019, we have seen a much alleviated market competition that has continued into Q2. We will do our best to maintain the current stabilizing trend.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

At the very early stages of 5G commercial launch, one of the major factors of excessive competition was the market share. This has now become a lot more stable. Also, the government is very committed to stabilizing the market. We believe that there is very low possibility of marketing competition becoming like that of last year.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

In the second half, there will indeed be launches of new 5G devices. That will strengthen our handset device lineup and the 5G market will become more energized. However, we will continue to launch 5G exclusive services and also provide unique experiences to our users, thereby leading the way to a healthy and constructive competition that focuses not on price but on service.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

As you mentioned, for example, we now have the Galaxy Note 20 now being launched. As we mentioned before, we have many external partners, such as being an exclusive operating partner within xCloud, with Microsoft. Utilizing these strong partnerships, we want to maximize our marketing synergy while at the same time making sure we cut costs.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Thank you.

Operator

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

The next question will be presented by Min-jun Jang from Kiwoom Securities. Mr. Jang, please go ahead.

Min-jun Jang
Analyst, Kiwoom Securities

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Thank you for the opportunity. I have the following two questions. My first question has to do with 5G p hase II. We're seeing a lot more stable marketing costs as well as on the CapEx side as well. When will we be able to see the 5G profit turnaround? I'd like to hear about your outlook in terms of the income for the second half. The second question is, you recently announced the launch of the xCloud gaming services with Microsoft. Can we get a rough subscriber target that you are looking forward to?

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Thank you, Mr. Jang, for your question.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Let me first address your first question regarding the profit growth for the second half.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

During Q2, when you look at the MNO operating income, it recorded a 5% increase quarter-on-quarter. As for year-on-year, we maintained about the same level of that of the previous year.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

While the 5G subscriber increase was weaker than what we had originally expected due to the effects of COVID-19, you can see that the current telecommunication market is seeing a very stable market without any excessive competition, and I believe this is a result that also was due to our company's cost-cutting efforts as well.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Into the third quarter, we believe that the market will continue to be at the current stable state, and we expect revenue growth to continue as well as a result of growing 5G subscriber base.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

This quarter, as you know, on a consolidated basis, we did see the profit turnaround year-on-year, and so we will do our best to make sure that MNO will also be able to record a profit turnaround on a year-on-year basis.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Alongside the profit growth for MNO that we have in plan, we will also be sure to accelerate the new ICT portfolio growth so that we can widen the increased gap of the consolidated operating income.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Let me now move on to answer the question regarding our xCloud gaming service launch.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Beginning from October of 2019, we have been running xCloud gaming service trials. Compared to the United States or the U.K., we have seen about two to three times more in terms of the hours of usage, as well as rate of returning users. It was very well received.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

The Xbox Cloud Gaming services is not only for our SK Telecom users. Subscribers of other telcos can also use this service. Through the Game Pass Ultimate, we will be providing over 100 games at the fixed monthly price of KRW 16,700.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

As the exclusive operating partner of Microsoft, we have an exclusive partnership with them for the Korean market. Through hyper collaboration, including Microsoft content, SK Telecom's top-notch networking and marketing, as well as customer care capabilities, and also with the device Galaxy Note 20, we are planning to lead the domestic cloud gaming market.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Through these cloud gaming services, we expect to acquire about at least one million new subscription-based users by the year 2023.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Thank you.

Operator

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

The next question will be presented by Kim Joonsop from KB Securities. Mr. Kim, please go ahead.

Kim Joonsop
Analyst, KB Securities

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Thank you. I have two questions. The first about B2B and the second about OTT. My first question is, there seem to be a lot of interest in SK Telecom's B2B businesses recently. I'd like to hear about your outlook for the business as well as any major milestones that you could share with us. My second question is, there is a lot of interest in OTT as well, and we've seen a lot of news regarding how Wavve is looking to cooperate with other domestic OTT services. I think there's also a lot of change, one of which include your decision to launch Ocean. Could we hear more about your strategies going forward in terms of how you plan to source further content, as well as what differentiate your service against others?

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Thank you, Mr. Kim, for your question.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Let me first address your question regarding the outlook of our 5G B2B business.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

With the 5G integrated cloud service at the center, SK Telecom is looking to expand our B2B business. In order to do so, we have already established a partnership system with strongest players in the cloud business at home and abroad, such as Bespin Global and Amazon Web Services.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Based on such strongly established partnerships, we are preparing to provide a 5G MEC-based cloud service for our corporate clients. We will go through a trial service during the second half of the year, and we plan to commercially launch it by the year-end.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

With Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, we have recently started building the smart plant. To do so, we have the 5G network using quantum cryptography exclusive to corporate clients. We are also in the process of discussing developing new business models with companies like hynix, Samsung Electronics and POSCO, that also include the establishment of a corporate client exclusive 5G network.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

One of the most representative use cases of the 5G B2B would be the 5GX Smart Factory business, which we are currently operating. We are also planning to provide a customized solution for our corporate clients that integrate 5G and cloud infrastructure, such as 5G and the cloud.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

Through the 5G cloud-based B2B businesses, we expect to be able to generate about KRW 200 billion worth of new business opportunities over the course of the next three years.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

I will now have Mr. Ha take your second question regarding the OTT service.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

[Non-English content]

Speaker 11

During the first half, Wavve did see a relatively weak subscriber or user number. We expect this number to increase once again through stronger content sourcing. By the year 2023, we stand by the target of achieving 5 million paying subscribers as well as KRW 500 billion in revenue.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

In the case of original content, we have in schedule to produce new original content, the titles of which are Alice, Lies of Lies or Zombie Detective, which are all working titles. Recently with the growing contactless demand and the non-face-to-face environment, we're also preparing concert content. In July, Red Velvet will be the first of many new Korean K-pop idol unscripted content.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

Also, we are continuing to build and expand our film library that all of our Wavve users can utilize. We are also planning and currently carrying out marketing efforts based on the classic content coming from the three linear broadcasters, which is a strong point that Wavve has.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

On top of that, Wavve is also reviewing and seeking various measures to cooperate with global partners such as NBCUniversal. Through that, we are also reviewing options to enter the global market as well. In this sense, if anything becomes more developed or crystallized, we will be sharing that with the market.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

Moving on, I'd like to talk about any potential cooperation with domestic OTT services. As I briefly mentioned before, we are very much convinced of the growth potential that Wavve has.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

However, we do feel that in order to have an upper hand in the global content market, we may need to grow in terms of economy of scale through cooperation with other so-called K-OTT players. We will be open to various new options through which we can achieve hyper collaboration, and grow the K content ecosystem.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

Lastly, regarding our recently launched Ocean service, this is a premium content that has very strong film and foreign drama series content, which was created with the intention to enhance the convenience of our B tv monthly price plan product. This is a monthly price plan, video-on-demand service that only B tv users can subscribe to. In its nature, it is completely different from Wavve.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

SK Broadband will continue its efforts to cooperate in order to strengthen its media business competitiveness through efforts that include joint investment in content with Wavve.

Hyung-il Ha
Head of Corporate Center 2, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

Thank you.

Operator

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Speaker 11

The next question will be presented by Hong-si k Kim from Hana Financial Investment. Mr. Kim, please go ahead.

Hong-sik Kim
Analyst, Hana Financial Investment

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Speaker 11

I have three questions. The first is, when you look at the numbers for Q2, we are not seeing a very strong ARPU. Has there been any sort of one-off items that led to that? My second question is, just to go back to what you said earlier. Is it safe for us to say that in the second half, on a non-consolidated basis, the company does expect the income to rebound, so to a plus? I'm just asking just to make sure, because there seem to be quite a lot of concern regarding your revenue as well. The last question is, when we look at the CapEx for the second half, it's about KRW 900 billion. This is actually quite higher than what we had anticipated. Can you tell us exactly how much of that was network CapEx?

Hong-sik Kim
Analyst, Hana Financial Investment

Also when we look at some of the media coverage recently, there is quite a lot of concerns and in fact complaints about the coverage of all three telcos. It seems that this could even become a legal issue maybe, looking at how some of the organizations and also the government is reacting to it. We'd like to hear about your outlook on that as well.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

Thank you, Mr. Kim, for your question. Let me take your first question regarding the ARPU.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

First of all, when you look at the total ARPU, because of growing number of IoT accounts in 2020, we did see the ARPU fall slightly.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

When you look at it from a handset account, just only for the handset accounts, we did achieve a 3% year-on-year growth. Overall, including the IoT accounts that are coming in as well as individual subscribers that are coming in, we expect the revenue growth to become more solid going forward.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

As I mentioned before regarding your second question, on a consolidated basis, yes, it will indeed turn around. Also, we will do our best to achieve that for the non-consolidated MNO income as well.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

Let me now move on to your question regarding the network CapEx.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

As you well know, last year, SK Telecom spent quite a larger amount of CapEx compared to our normal or other years due to the commercial launch of the 5G service. This year we will be putting in more investments to increase and expand the 5G market.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

As for the total CapEx, we will carry out the CapEx spending in a very efficient manner as much as possible by reducing any kind of CapEx that goes into other networks aside from 5G. You could see the total CapEx or the portion of 5G CapEx against the total amount of CapEx will continue to increase. However, as for the detailed numbers, please ask for your understanding that we cannot disclose the numbers due to competition issues.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

Thank you.

Jeong Hwan Choi
Investor Relations Officer, SK Telecom

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Operator

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Jeong Hwan Choi
Investor Relations Officer, SK Telecom

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Operator

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Jeong Hwan Choi
Investor Relations Officer, SK Telecom

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Operator

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Speaker 11

The next question will be presented by Seyon Park from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Seyon Park
Analyst, Morgan Stanley

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Speaker 11

Thank you for the opportunity. My first question, I just want to ask some more about your new shareholder return policy that you mentioned. Is it safe to say that for this year, the dividend will be maintained at the former KRW 10,000? Is it to say that from this year end, we will be able to see sort of the upside in terms of dividend for your new business results, plus the stable dividend payout based on your M&O telco business? Will we be able to see the effects of that beginning from this year end? For example, in next year, if SK hynix does really well, and if they increase their dividend payout, does that mean we can also expect our dividends to be increased? The second question is, you said that share buyback is a possibility.

If that is the case, what are the preconditions for you to carry out a share buyback? From what you said, is it safe to understand that your management currently feels that your current share price is undervalued? About when will the share buyback happen, possibly? That's my question.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

Thank you, Mr. Park, for your question.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

I think that you had about three questions, but I do believe all of them relate to the dividend issue. Let me just address that as a whole. First of all, in terms of the interim dividend, from previously, we have paid out something close to a DPS type, where we paid out KRW 1,000 for the interim dividend. As I mentioned, going forward, we will be linking that to the achievements, earnings or any kind of additional gains that come from our subsidiaries.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

SK hynix has set out their shareholder return policy for the upcoming three years to KRW 1,000 in DPS percentage of their cash flow. Based on that, I think there is definitely an upside to our dividend already.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

As I mentioned before, as for companies like SK Broadband and ADT Caps, I believe they all have the potential to pay out dividends in the future, and I think that these factors are definitely an upside factor to SK Telecom's interim dividend going forward.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

As for the year-end dividend, again, as I mentioned, we will be taking into consideration the M&O results, and we will also be maintaining the current DPS of KRW 9,000. I would say that the annual dividend for 2020 compared to that of the last year, definitely has potential upside to it. The discussions regarding share buyback is excluding these issues. It's unrelated to our dividend.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

As for the share buyback, this is a decision that needs to be made through the meeting of the board of directors. However, if we look at the current share price, it's been quite stagnant at lower KRW 200,000. Management believes that it is indeed undervalued. If we were to carry out a share buyback, we will do that within 2020.

Poong-Young Yoon
CFO and Head of Corporate Center 1, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

Thank you.

Jeong Hwan Choi
Investor Relations Officer, SK Telecom

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Speaker 11

This concludes the earnings conference call for Q2 of 2020. Thank you.