From The Korean Herald Tribune:
1-04-99 Domestic cellular providers post good earnings
The domestic mobile phone companies last year posted impressive earnings, thanks to an upsurge in the number of subscribers, business sources said.
SK Telecom is expected to post sales revenue of 3.66 trillion won ($3.0 billion) for last year, up about 150 billion won from the previous year. SK
Telecom said, however, that its earnings performance last year was hurt by the sharp reduction in the number of personal pager subscribers, falling to
4.5 million from 7.5 million in the previous year, although the number of cellular subscribers rose to 5.9 million from 4.57 million at the end of 1997.
Shinsegi Telecom, which started providing services back in April 1996, posted sales revenue of 775.1 billion last year, a sharp upturn from the 474.9
billion won recorded in the previous year. As a result, Shinsegi turned its operation into the black of 4.2 billion won. Shinsegi plans to boost the number
of subscribers to three million and sales to 1.28 trillion won this year, for a net profit of 101 billion won. Korea Telecom Freetel posted sales revenue
of 660 billion won by boosting the number of subscribers to 2.35 million. The company last year posted a deficit of 110 million won, largely due to
cellular phone subsidies and facility investments.
The company this year plans to post profits of 10 billion or more by boosting the number of subscribers to 3.41 million and sales to 1.35 trillion won.
Hansol PCS said the number of subscribers last year amounted to 1.42 million, sales reached 456.8 billion won, but still in the red of about 82 billion
won. This year Hansol plans to post profit of 8.2 billion won by boosting its numbers of subscribers to 2.29 million and sales to 835.4 billion won.
LG Telecom said the number of subscribers last year reached 2.12 million and sales revenue 515.2 billion won. The company said its operation for this
year is expected to swing back into the black.
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