reports
- 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
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.
LG Uplus: 1 director
A director at LG Uplus maiden bought 5,197 shares at 9,700.000KRW and the significance rating of the trade was 69/100. 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 cle...
- 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
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos Takeaways from Meetings with the Korean Telcos in...
We met with all 3 of the Korean Telcos in Seoul over the last couple of days. All 3 are committed to engaging with and following the government “Value-up” programme, with the industry having started to become more shareholder friendly 2-3 years ago. We see the potential for higher industry returns (lower capex, opex) as well as better shareholder remuneration. Change will take time, but patient investors are set to do well from Korea as the market finally finds its place in the sun we think. Top...
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos Q4 23 review: EBITDA improved despite softer serv...
South Korean operators were slower across the board at service revenue on softer Fixed growth, although mobile and Enterprise kept pace. Both LG and SKT saw an acceleration in Enterprise this quarter as the former opened a new DC in Q4. Both SKT and KT saw improvements in EBITDA while LG was pressured by higher labour costs.
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos Outlook 2024; Government interference overshadowi...
2023 saw Govt interference in industry pricing, competition and management offsetting good fundamentals. With elections in April this may continue near term. However, despite this the industry continues to grow cash flow, which should also continue, and taking a slightly longer perspective shows that KT and SKT (although not LG U-Plus) are still trending higher.
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos Q3 23 review: Better trends in core mobile and En...
South Korean telco saw a slower quarter as improvements at SKT and LG were offset by KT’s slowdown, attributable to its subsidiaries (slower BC Card, declines at Content and Skylife). Nevertheless, core mobile and Enterprise trends improved, with broadband stable.
- Chris Hoare
- Chris Hoare
- David Lopes
South Korean Telcos Q2 23 review: Lifted by non-mobile; easing capex ...
Aggregate service revenue were lifted by KT’s non-mobile performance this quarter, with strong EBITDA growth from both KT and LG owing to well controlled labour and service costs. Encouragingly too, 1H23 aggregate capex intensity was lower (12.6% vs. 13.5% last year) despite a focus on AI investments recently.
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos Government announced to improve competitive struc...
Today, South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT ("MSIT") unveiled plans aimed at lowering the average household mobile spending, by encouraging lower mobile price plans and fostering greater mobile competition through 1) incentivising a fourth mobile operator, 2) promoting MVNO competitiveness through wholesale provisions and 3) raising the subsidy cap on Mobile Device Distribution Act from 15% to 30%
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos Q1 23 review: Sustained top-line, slower EBITDA
South Korean carriers delivered LSD service revenue growth again, driven off mobile and Enterprise, with EBITDA lighter than previous quarters. Service revenue grew 2.9% (Q4: 3%) while EBITDA growth slowed to 1.8% YoY, dragged by both KT and LG. Mobile ARPU trend remains positive, with 5G penetration (off handset base) at 61%.
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos Q4 22 review: Slower top-line, better EBITDA tren...
South Korean carriers closed off the year with a slightly slower quarter but better margins. Service revenue eased to 3% as improvement in mobile and enterprise offset the slowdown in broadband. EBITDA trend was better for KT and LG but flat for SKT. FY22 shareholder remuneration was commendable - 42% pay-out for LG (from 35%); 40% of OpFCF for SKT as guided. Moreover, SKT also flagged a likely share buyback in the future.
- Chris Hoare
- David Lopes
New Street: Korean Telcos Outlook 2023; Expect another good year
2022 was a good year for the Korean Telcos, and we think 2023 will be too. 5G should continue to drive ARPU upside on the consumer mobile side, while Enterprise, Datacentre and Content revenues should also be strong. KT is our top pick, and we think has the potential to double over time.
- Chris Hoare
- David Lopes
New Street: South Korean Telcos Q3 22 review: Stable topline growth a...
Overall service revenue growth trend was stable for South Korean telcos, up by 4% YoY. Decent Enterprise momentum and stable broadband growth helped offset the slowdown in mobile which was driven by a marginal ARPU decline. EBITDA growth improved, driven by lower advertising costs and lower labour costs compared to Q2.
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