reports
- 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
SK Telecom (Buy, KRW 86,000, +54%) Q4 24 Quick Take: Softer mobile re...
SKT reported softer numbers against consensus, while its net profit benefited from a one-off equity valuation gain. Across its segments, SK Broadband delivered better trends, but mobile service revenue was soft, and EBITDA was impacted by a jump in labour costs. We expect costs to ease and margins to improve as SKT undergoes cost efficiencies and strips out less profitable businesses. Dividend payout was in-line with expectations if excluding the one-offs.
SK Telecom Co Ltd: 1 director
A director at SK Telecom Co Ltd bought 1,000 shares at 54,700.000KRW and the significance rating of the trade was 52/100. Is that information sufficient for you to make an investment decision? This report gives details of those trades and adds context and analysis to them such that you can judge whether these trading decisions are ones worth following. Included in the report is a detailed share price chart which plots discretionary trades by all the company's directors over the last two years ...
- 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.
- Chris Hoare
- Chris Hoare
- Chris Hoare
LG Uplus (Buy, TP: KRW 19,000, +71%) New Corporate Value Up Plan, mod...
Yesterday, LG Uplus announced its new Corporate Value Up plan, in conjunction with the appointment of a new CEO in 2025, Hong Bum-Sik who is the company’s current head of corporate strategy. We think the plan is modestly positive but not as transformational as KT’s. Our brief thoughts below.
- Chris Hoare
- Chris Hoare
SK Telecom (Buy, TP: KRW 100,000, +74%) Q3 24 Quick Take: Encouraging...
SK Telecom saw revenue accelerate again on the back of B2B Enterprise demand. Mobile also kept steady as the environment stayed benign. Notably, capex spend remains disciplined while operating profit was up 7.1% YoY off lower depreciation and continued cost control. The recently announced Corporate Value Up plan was largely expected.
- Chris Hoare
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos Q2 24 review: Softer but capex moderation remains...
Group service revenue and EBITDA trends were softer in Q2, beset by slower Enterprise growth and a one-off labour cost hike by KT. By contrast, mobile improved to 2.1% YoY, led by SKT and KT. Given the benign mobile landscape and the removal of Stage X’s mobile license, we expect trends to sustain at current levels. Capex spend is under control while quarterly dividends were unchanged. Separately, we have trimmed our target prices for SKT and LG Uplus; KT remains our preferred pick.
- Chris Hoare
LG Uplus (Buy, TP: KRW 21,000, +112%) Q2 24 Quick Take: Decent net ad...
Trends were slower as service revenue and EBITDA missed expectations 1% and 2% respectively. As a result, pressure continue to be felt at the bottom line. Key positives were its Enterprise and broadband momentum and the moderation in capex. Separately, LG had also disclosed an interim dividend of KRW 250/share, unchanged from last year.
- Chris Hoare
SK Telecom (Buy, TP: KRW 116,000, +122%) Q2 24 Quick Take: Encouragin...
SK Telecom saw an acceleration in topline while underlying EBITDA came in 2% ahead. Encouragingly, mobile trends improved on better mix and rise in roaming users while Enterprise, a key focus area, expanded its contribution to near 10% of overall revenue. Focus on AI continues to hold back shareholder remuneration however we think.
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos MSIT may revoke fourth operator's 28 GHz licence
South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT ("MSIT") is said to be revoking Stage X's 28 GHz spectrum, citing its inability to pay the KRW 205bn (US$ 150m) paid-in capital last month and discrepancies around its shareholders' ownership ratio. Our thoughts below.
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos Q1 24 review: Better service revenue trends, but ...
South Korean operators delivered better service revenue growth, led by improvements in Broadband and Enterprise. As 5G penetration matures (70% in Q1), mobile still managed LSD growth. With improving capital intensity and steadily rising dividends, we remain constructive in this space, with KT remaining as our preferred pick
- Chris Hoare
LG Uplus (Buy, TP: KRW 21,000, +110%) Q1 24 Quick Take: Better top li...
LG Uplus’ numbers improved from last quarter. Faster service revenue trend was led by improvements across the board, with continued strength in Enterprise. Bottom line was however weak off higher wage, D&A and interest costs. Our brief takeaway below.
- Chris Hoare
SK Telecom (Buy, TP: KRW 116,000, +126%) Q1 24 Quick Take: Decent top...
Topline came in better than expected, supported by a better mobile performance from higher roaming users well as sustained performance from SK Broadband. EBITDA was relatively in line while net profit beat on expectations this quarter (12% ahead), helped by other income from its investment assets. Our thoughts below.
- Chris Hoare
SK Telecom (Buy, TP: KRW 116,000, +120%) New shareholder return polic...
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.
KT Corporation: 1 director
A director at KT Corporation maiden bought 5,300 shares at 37,300.000KRW and the significance rating of the trade was 76/100. Is that information sufficient for you to make an investment decision? This report gives details of those trades and adds context and analysis to them such that you can judge whether these trading decisions are ones worth following. Included in the report is a detailed share price chart which plots discretionary trades by all the company's directors over the last two ye...
- Chris Hoare
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