SK Telecom Returns to Profit as Mobile ARPU Jumps 22%

SK Telecom swung to a third-quarter net profit of KRW412 billion (US$310 million), reversing a KRW167 billion ($120 million) loss a year earlier as its core mobile and broadband operations absorbed the damage from 2024's data breach. Total revenue rose 13.1% to KRW4.5 trillion ($3.36 billion), while EBITDA climbed 52% to KRW1.44 trillion ($1.1 billion), the South Korean operator reported on Wednesday.

The numbers close out a bruising chapter. Last year the telco's operating profit dropped 91% after regulators fined it $94 million over a leak of personal details belonging to its 25 million customers. It lost roughly a million subscribers in the fallout and hasn't fully won them back. The MNO base stands at 30.9 million — still one million short of the pre-breach total. The money, at least, has recovered faster than the headcount.

What's driving the rebound?

Mobile service revenue grew 21.6% to KRW2.6 trillion ($1.94 billion), and ARPU rose 22% year on year to KRW29,300 ($21.90). That kind of ARPU movement suggests SKT is earning more from fewer customers rather than buying growth.

Han Myung-jin, head of the MNO business, told Wednesday's earnings call the operator was "focused on acquiring high-quality subscribers through customer value innovation rather than engaging in competition to acquire subscribers through excessive marketing." Translation: no more subsidy wars. The market will judge whether that discipline holds.

Broadband chipped in too. Revenue rose 7.4%, driven by faster take-up of the operator's gigabit service. The AI data center unit grew 6.2% on higher utilization and increased subsea traffic.

What happened to the data center business?

SKT restructured its data center operations this year, splitting them into two companies. SK Horizon now runs the legacy data centers and subsea capacity; it has taken on private equity partners, with SKT retaining a 51% stake.

SK Hyper, the second entity, develops new AI data centers and remains fully owned — for now. CFO Park Jong-seok said the company wants outside funding and is already talking to long-term customers, which he called an essential step toward attracting investment.

"While we are discussing contract terms with potential customers, we are also considering various financing options at the same time, including project financing," Park said. He conceded that rising interest rates would push up funding costs, but argued "project bankability" matters more to investors. A CFO who talks about bankability rather than rates is telling you where he thinks the risk sits.

Is 5G standalone part of the plan?

Yes, and soon. SKT said it has completed testing of its 5G standalone network and plans to launch the first commercial services next month. That gives the operator a fresh capability story to pitch to the enterprise customers it now courts — and a potential new revenue line to complement the ARPU recovery.

Investors liked the quarter regardless. The stock closed 4.2% higher on the KRX on Wednesday. With subscriber numbers still a million shy of pre-breach levels, the commercial 5G SA launch and any SK Hyper funding deal will show whether the recovery rests on pricing discipline alone or on something more durable.