[Edaily Reporter Yun Junghoon ]KTCorporation(030200)has shown a marked improvement in earnings, driven by balanced growth in its core business and new ventures, despite the negative base effect from large one-time gains and external headwinds. Increased orders for AI Transformation (AX) in the B2B sector and strong performance from the group’s core portfolio boosted overall profitability.

KTCorporation announced on the 12th that, based on K-IFRS consolidated standards, it recorded revenue of 6.6799 trillion won and operating profit of 648.3 billion won for the second quarter of 2026.

Although operating profit decreased year-over-year (YoY) due to a base effect resulting from the reflection of large-scale real estate sales gains in the same period of the previous year, it surged 34.3% compared to the previous quarter (Q1), driven by growth in the Group’s core portfolio—including data centers and real estate—and improved performance from content subsidiaries, thereby establishing strong momentum.

AX Business Gains Momentum in the Financial Sector… Revenue Jumps 22.3%

The AX (AI Transformation) business, central to the company’s structural reform, is now bearing fruit in earnest. As demand for AI adoption intensifies, particularly in the financial sector, KTCorporation’s AX business revenue surged 22.3% year-over-year.

KTCorporation secured 22 AX projects in the financial sector in the first half of the year alone, including the construction and operation of AICC (AI Contact Centers) for four of South Korea’s five major commercial banks. By establishing unique B2B references—such as the implementation of an AI-based development and operations system (AIDLC)—the company is building a robust order backlog.

Its core wired and wireless businesses also served as a stable pillar by solidifying their subscriber bases. The share of 5G subscribers expanded to 83.2% of all handset users, and the internet business grew by 1.1% year-over-year, driven by an increase in subscribers centered on Giga Internet and expanded use of value-added services.

Synergies from the “Group Portfolio,” including KTCorporation Cloud and KTCorporation Estate, are taking full effect

Subsidiaries contributed to the improvement in KTCorporation’s consolidated results with solid performance across the board.

KT Cloud achieved double-digit revenue growth year-over-year thanks to the full-scale operation of the Gasan data center (DC) and the expansion of its DBO (Design, Build, and Operate) business. It further strengthened its dominance in the public and enterprise markets by establishing public cloud disaster recovery (DR) and high-availability systems.

KTCorporation continued its upward trend in performance, driven by the inclusion of results from the Daejeon Dunsan development project and strong performance in its office and hotel businesses (driven by rising average revenue per unit and occupancy rates).

Major content subsidiaries—including Nas Media (digital out-of-home advertising), Millie’s Library, and Studio Genie—contributed to improved profitability through distribution diversification and operational restructuring.

Kbank surpassed 16.45 million total customers in the second quarter, driving robust growth with 26.6 trillion won in deposits and 19.8 trillion won in loans.

10% ROE Target by 2028… “Accelerating Value Creation and Dividend Returns to Shareholders”

Along with this earnings announcement, KTCorporation reaffirmed its commitment to seamlessly executing its mid- to long-term corporate value enhancement plan, centered on its transformation into an “AX Platform Company.” The strategy aims to achieve a consolidated ROE (return on equity) of 9–10% by 2028 and more than double AX revenue compared to 2025 levels.

To this end, the company plans to secure an additional 1 GW of AI data center (AIDC) capacity and 90 Tbps of subsea cable capacity by 2031, positioning itself as Asia’s AX connectivity hub.

The shareholder return policy is also proceeding as planned. The 250 billion won share buyback announced last February is scheduled to be completed by September 9, and the second-quarter dividend of 600 won per share has been finalized and will be paid on August 13.

Min Hye-byeong, KTCorporation’s Chief Financial Officer (Executive Vice President), stated, “Through our transformation into an AX Platform Company and efforts to improve profitability, KTCorporation has achieved an increase in profits compared to the previous quarter.” He added, “In the second half of the year, we will continue to drive growth centered on our core portfolio while strengthening customer data protection and security capabilities to enhance customer trust and ensure the smooth implementation of our plans to increase corporate value.”