SKT 2Q profits surge 56% thanks to lower marketing costs

South Korean mobile operator SK Telecom (SKT) reported a 56% rise in net income in the second quarter, due in part to lower marketing costs. SKT posted net profit of KRW467.1 billion (USD455.8 million), up from KRW298.7 billion a year ago, on the back of a 6% rise in sales revenues to KRW2.53 trillion (USD2.47 billion). The cellco said that marketing costs fell 23% to KRW442 billion, compared with a year ago when it saw adspend rising dramatically to combat the introduction of mobile number portability in South Korea from 1 January 2004. Commenting on the results, SKT’s chief executive Kim Shin-bae said ‘Stabilising market conditions, coupled with our efforts to efficiently manage costs led to the improved second-quarter results’.