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Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

KT Corp (Buy, KRW 105,000, +94%) Q2 25 Quick Take: Service revenue in...

Profitability rose sharply on lower labour costs and was partly boosted by a real estate gain, well-flagged previously. Despite ongoing restructuring to shed lower-margin businesses, service revenue trend inflected, driven by B2B and Fixed Line. As expected, operational metrics accelerated in Q2 due to the situation at SKT.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

LG Uplus (Buy, KRW 19,000, +31%) Q2 25 Quick Take: Good acceleration

LG Uplus printed better numbers in Q2 as service revenue and earnings growth accelerated, putting it closer to its 6%-6.5% profit margin target by 2027. Importantly, capex spend continues to moderate which is supportive for cash flow and therefore shareholder remuneration. The company had instituted a KRW 80bn (USD50m) buyback back in July, ahead of our forecasts and translates to 5.7% shareholder remuneration yield on our estimates.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

SK Telecom (Neutral, KRW 78,000, +39%) Q2 25 Quick Take: Heavier hit ...

Results were weak as expected because of the churn from April data breach. However, the worst is yet to come since Q3 will be impacted by the 50% discount on monthly tariff that will be applied in August. There is still no news on the fine which creates an overhang although news outlet suggests it could be disclosed as early as this month. For now, we maintain our Neutral stance.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

Global EM Telcos & Towers Another monster month: NSR GEM Top-10 Augus...

Our top picks performed very strongly again in July, marked by a strong recovery from VEON, Millicom and IHS Towers alongside continued momentum at Singtel and Airtel Africa. Heading into earnings season, we continue to see the EM Telco cycle in an upswing. This note also includes key news & other thoughts, to try to help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space. In our view, our picks remain undervalued, so we make no changes to the list.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

Global EM Telcos & Towers Another decent month: NSR GEM Top-10 July ‘...

Our picks largely had a slightly slower month in June, with VEON seeing sharp profit taking, but a recovery in some of the weaker stocks such as LILAK offset to continue to see overall valuations rise. We continue to see the EM Telco cycle in an upswing. This note also includes key news & other thoughts, to try to help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space. In our view, our picks remain heavily undervalued, so we make no changes to the list.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

South Korean Telcos Q1 25 review: Peers expected to benefit near-term...

Margins are improving as operators execute on cost discipline and shift away from less profitable operations. As capex intensity falls, cash flow is rising and so therefore are dividends or buybacks; LG is expected to announce a buyback in 2H. Thus we are confident of further re-rating and our recent trip reinforced this view. Following the data breach at SKT, near term results are likely to favour KT and LG Uplus. KT remains our preferred pick and is one of our top picks in GEM Telcos.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

Global EM Telcos M&A Cycle in-bound; buy the targets

With sentiment, leverage and cash flow all improving for EM Telcos we think we are approaching the point of the cycle where M&A is going to become more prevalent, and shift from bearish (in-market consolidation), to bullish (out of footprint). Investors should consider building portfolios based on likely targets. Who are they?

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

Global EM Telcos & Towers Bull market continues – NSR GEM Top-10 June...

It was another very strong month for our picks as the EM Telco bull market continues. As we have been arguing for some time EM Telco is a much better space than it used to be, and the market has now started to understand this. This note also includes key news & other thoughts, to try to help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

GEM Telcos: Consolidation – THE theme driving improved trends for EM T...

Earlier this month we published on how Global EM Telco Capex is falling rapidly, in large part driven by consolidation. On average EM Telco markets have fallen from a peak of 7 players to under 3. We expect many to end up with 2, or even a single network. How much further far might this cut capex?

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

Takeaways from Meetings with the Korean Telcos in Seoul. KT to KRW 105...

We met with all 3 of the Korean Telcos in Seoul over the last couple of days. All 3 remain committed to “Value-up”. However, far the biggest impact is on KT who’s cash flow is dramatically improving. LG is also likely to have a strong year, and we think profitability has turned a corner.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

KT Corp (Buy, KRW 85,000, +64%) Q1 25 Quick Take: Benefiting from cos...

KT reported strong profit growth as it benefits from the hefty headcount reduction programme undertaken in Q4, and despite a softer topline, a result of its conscious effort to shift away from lower-margin B2B businesses. Both EBITDA (+12%) and EBIT (+36%) were up sharply. None of this is reflected in the valuation of 8x FY25 P/E and 4.4% dividend yield, the stock remains one of our Top Picks with a KRW 85,000 price target.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

LG Uplus (Buy, KRW 19,000, +53%) Q1 25 Quick Take: Decent bottom-line...

LG Uplus printed a solid profit beat, ahead of expectations by 7% on better service revenue and EBITDA inflecting back to growth, as margins were better managed this quarter. We continue to believe its shareholder remuneration is attractive (5.6% dividend yield + potential buyback announcement in 2Q25). We stay Buyers with a KRW 19k price target.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

Global EM Telcos Capex in steep decline; underpins EFCF growth

We analyze the capex history & outlook for Global EM Telcos. For this group capex is falling rapidly (-12% in 2024 in US$) as competitive intensity improves and markets consolidate. Excluding China and India, EM Telco capex is already down 23% from peak.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

Global EM Telcos & Towers Still rising – NSR GEM Top-10 May ‘25 Updat...

Despite global volatility our EM Top Picks posted positive returns again in April and now up 34% YTD on average. As we have been arguing for some time EM Telco is a much better space than it used to be and this is now being reflected by the market it seems.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

Global EM Telcos & Towers – On Fire - NSR GEM Top-10 April 25 Update. ...

Our picks were on fire in March, with our top EM Telcos now up 27% YTD on average. This note also includes key news & other thoughts catalysts, help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

Global EM Telcos & Towers NSR GEM Top-10 March ‘25 Update: February a...

February was another good month for our top EM Telcos, now up 15% YTD on average. This note also includes key news & other thoughts in order to help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space. With performance strong so far, we make no changes to our picks.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

South Korean Telcos Q4 24 review: Value up starting to pay dividends

Although growth is slowing, cash flow trends continue to improve on greater discipline on opex and capex. The industry is increasingly giving this back in the form of higher dividends or buybacks which KT has already instituted and LG guided buybacks of up to 20% of net profits .

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

KT (Buy, KRW 85,000, +88%) Q4 24 Quick Take: Attractive value play wi...

KT reported a decent set of underlying results if excluding the one-off costs related to its early retirement programme which was well flagged earlier. Service revenue also recovered back to growth as Enterprise accelerated even despite the ongoing restructuring of less profitable business

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

Global EM Telcos & Towers – NSR EM Top picks Feb 25 update. Top-8 beco...

We update the NSR GEM Top Picks list. No stocks are dropped, and we add LILAC and TIM Brasil to our list, extending it to a Top-10 list from Top-8. Our picks had a good start, up 12% on average since the start of the year. This note also includes key news & other thoughts in order to help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space.

Chris Hoare
  • Chris Hoare

South Korean Telcos Outlook 2025: Value-up should be flowing

2024 contained a few surprises for the telcos, with the year starting with “Value-up” and ending with political chaos. Value-up is likely to have the longer lasting effects we think, and as most exposed and with the best strategy, and despite rising 33% in 2024, KT remains our top pick.

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