-- SK Telecom's (KRX:017670) attributable profit declined during the first quarter amid the effects of a data breach in the previous year.
South Korea's largest wireless telecommunications operator posted net attributable profit of 322.4 billion won, down 11.5% from 364.4 billion won a year earlier, according to a Thursday filing with the Korea Exchange.
Basic earnings per share slid to 1,490 won during the quarter from 1,689 won in the year-ago period. Analysts at Visible Alpha estimated diluted earnings per share at 1,297.15 won.
Operating revenue slipped 1.4% year over year to 4.392 trillion won from 4.454 trillion won.
Mobile service revenue declined 3% to 2.581 trillion won from 2.662 trillion won.
Despite the fallout from the data breach in the first quarter of 2025, which led to the loss of about 600,000 subscribers during the period following a cyberattack on its main servers, the telco gained 210,000 handset subscribers in the first three months of 2026.
SK Telecom also expanded membership benefits and restructured rates to win more subscribers, it said.
"These results are attributable to the company's commitment to placing customers at the core of its business and implementing a range of measures to strengthen fundamental competitiveness," SK Telecom said in a press release on Thursday.
Broadband revenue grew 3.2% year over year to 1.150 trillion won from 1.114 trillion won as the number of high-speed internet subscribers grew.
Artificial intelligence data center revenue surged 89% year over year to 131.4 billion won from 69.4 billion won on higher use rates of its data centers and better revenue contribution from its GPU-as-a-service segment.
Operating expenses slipped year over year to 3.855 trillion won from 3.886 trillion won.
Capital expenditure jumped 29% to 136.5 billion won from 106 billion won.
"Going forward, we will make every effort to restore our earnings by generating sustained results," Chief Financial Officer Park Jong-seok said in a statement.
SK Telecom's shares declined over 2% in Thursday afternoon trade.