SK Telecom (Buy, TP: KRW 116,000, +120%) New shareholder return policy, somewhat underwhelming

SK Telecom has issued its new shareholder return policy for the next three years (2024-2026), at least 50% of adjusted consolidated net profit in the form of dividends and share repurchases. The headline figure is somewhat underwhelming, but is now a minimum rather than a cap and could be the first of more initiatives to come as a result of the "Value-up" programme in Korea. Our thoughts below.

South Korean Telcos What could the telcos do to address the “Value-up” programme?

In this note, we address the “Value-up Programme” in Korea. All three telcos have said they want to engage with and support the programme. So, what could they do? And how significant could it be?

Asia Telco Tour Feedback, Improving growth, ROCE and shareholder remuneration

We ran our Asia Telco tour last week. This time we met 12 companies in 3 countries (Korea, Japan, Thailand). Telco share prices in all 3 of these countries have been pretty strong recently as telcos continue to benefit from generally positive themes: growth, return on capital and shareholder remuneration are all typically improving.

KLA 3FQ24: Gradual recovery on track, positive 2025 outlook. Maintain Buy, $820.

KLA reported 3FQ24 last night.

Intel 1Q24: server recovery delayed to 2H. Turnaround thesis still holds. Buy, $46 TP.

Mobileye 1Q24: inventory correction >70% complete, 3 additional OEMs in the SuperVision pipeline. Buy, $50.

Mobileye reported 1Q24 yesterday.