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Communications

KT Corp.

Company Background

KT is the largest telecommunications company in South Korea. It began life as Korea Telecommunications Authority, established in 1981. Since privatization in 2002, KT has expanded by absorbing mobile service provider KT Freetel and others. The South Korean National Pension Service is the largest shareholder in KT. KT engaged in the mobile phone service at its subsidiary. But it was forced to sell the subsidiary to SK group when it was privatized. The separated company, currently SK Telecom, is the top mobile carrier in South Korea.

KT Freetel is a subsidiary KT established after selling the mobile phone service subsidiary to SK group. KT Freetel currently offers telecom services under the Olleh brand and is one of the largest player in the South Korean market.

The company received capital subscriptions from major Japanese mobile carrier NTT Docomo in 2005. The companies cooperate in providing roaming services as well as on a technical level.

Hwang Chang-gyu, who was head of Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business, became the telecommunications company's chairman and CEO in 2014.

He implemented various reforms, such as reducing the number of sections and the number of administration staff and reinforcing overseas operations.

He has also decided to participate in plans to construct communications networks in African nations and introduce smart meters in Uzbekistan.

Business Summary

KT Corp. engages in the provision of integrated telecommunication services. The company operates through the Customer and Marketing businesses. Its services include wire and wireless phones, internet, and other communication. The company was founded on December 20, 1981 and is headquartered in Seongnam-si, South Korea.

Financial Highlights

Dec 2022 KRWUSD
Revenue25,650.01B19,851.38M
Gross Profit7,909.44B6,121.37M
Operating income1,673.38B1,295.08M
Income before tax1,911.35B1,479.25M
Net income1,262.49B977.08M
EBITDA5,329.26B4,124.49M
Diluted EPS5,209.884.03
Dividends Per Share1,9601.51
Total Assets40,980.68B32,408.60M
Total liabilities22,565.95B17,845.75M
Total equity16,612.17B13,137.34M
Operating cash flow3,597.06B2,783.88M
Currency in KRWCurrency in USD

Historical Data

 Dec 2018Dec 2019Dec 2020Dec 2021Dec 2022
Revenue 23,460.14B 24,342.06B 23,916.66B 24,898.00B 25,650.01B
Gross Profit 6,567.94B 6,550.25B 6,502.70B 7,190.32B 7,909.44B
Operating income 1,240.39B 1,133.19B 1,132.77B 1,644.26B 1,673.38B
Income before tax 1,090.74B 979,575M 957,015M 1,862.35B 1,911.35B
Net income 688,464M 615,777M 658,025M 1,356.87B 1,262.49B
EBITDA 4,522.13B 4,762.68B 4,767.05B 5,251.90B 5,329.26B
Diluted EPS 2,809.47 2,510.25 2,682.78 5,747.22 5,209.88
Dividends Per Share 1,100 1,100 1,350 1,910 1,960
Total Assets 32,188.83B 34,540.09B 33,662.54B 37,159.34B 40,980.68B
Total liabilities 17,457.55B 19,356.55B 18,111.11B 20,592.18B 22,565.95B
Total equity 13,203.56B 13,663.38B 14,011.44B 14,976.53B 16,612.17B
Operating cash flow 4,010.46B 3,745.17B 4,739.82B 5,561.83B 3,597.06B
 Dec 2018Dec 2019Dec 2020Dec 2021Dec 2022
Revenue 21,317.36M 20,873.25M 20,270.28M 21,741.95M 19,851.38M
Gross Profit 5,968.04M 5,616.82M 5,511.29M 6,278.88M 6,121.37M
Operating income 1,127.10M 971.71M 960.06M 1,435.84M 1,295.08M
Income before tax 991.11M 839.98M 811.10M 1,626.28M 1,479.25M
Net income 625.58M 528.02M 557.70M 1,184.88M 977.08M
EBITDA 4,109.09M 4,083.98M 4,040.26M 4,586.17M 4,124.49M
Diluted EPS 2.55 2.15 2.27 5.01 4.03
Dividends Per Share 0.99 0.94 1.14 1.66 1.51
Total Assets 28,848.20M 29,867.35M 30,988.25M 31,259.17M 32,408.60M
Total liabilities 15,645.76M 16,737.90M 16,672.29M 17,322.54M 17,845.75M
Total equity 11,833.26M 11,814.94M 12,898.31M 12,598.55M 13,137.34M
Operating cash flow 3,644.16M 3,211.47M 4,017.18M 4,856.82M 2,783.88M

Valuation Measures

Dec 2022
PER6.48
ROA3.23%
ROE7.99%
Operating margin6.52%
Profit margin4.92%

Key executives

  • Chief Executive Officer & Director: Hyun-Mo Gu
  • Managing Director & Head-Finance: Young-Jin Kim
  • VP & Head-Information Technology Planning: Soo-Jung Shin
  • Vice President & Head-Legal: Byung-Sam Park
  • Vice President: Seunghoon Chi

Shareholders

  • National Pension Service of Korea (8.5%)
  • Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. (5.4%)
  • Silchester International Investors LLP (4.9%)
  • Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd. (4.6%)
  • Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd. (3.1%)
  • KT Corp. (1.9%)
  • T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (Investment Management) (1.2%)
  • Kopernik Global Investors LLC (1.0%)
  • AllianceBernstein LP (1.0%)
  • APG Asset Management NV (0.9%)

Contact Details

  • Website:http://www.kt.com
  • Address: 90 Buljeong-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, 13606, South Korea
  • Phone: +82.31.727.0114

Related Companies

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  • Nasmedia Thailand Co., Ltd.
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  • Korea Telecom Singapore Pte Ltd.
  • KT Hong Kong Telecommunications Co., Ltd.
  • PT BC Card Asia Pacific
  • Korea Telecom America, Inc.
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  • KTGDH Co., Ltd.
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  • BC Card China Co., Ltd.
  • KT Strategic Investment Fund No.5
  • KT Strategic Investment Fund No.4
  • KT Strategic Investment Fund No.3
  • KT Strategic Investment Fund No.2

Competitors

  • SK Telecom Co., Ltd.
  • LG Uplus Corp
  • Sejong Telecom Inc.
  • SK D&D Co. Ltd.
  • KB Financial Group Inc.
  • Hana Financial Group Inc.
  • Incross Co.,Ltd.
  • Samsung Card Co., Ltd
  • Seoul Broadcasting System Co., Ltd.
  • Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd.
  • Woori Financial Group, Inc.
  • LG HelloVision Corp.
  • KT Skylife Co., Ltd
  • Hyundai Futurenet Co., Ltd
  • Inscobee, Inc.
  • KL-Net Corp
  • Taekwang Industrial Co., Ltd.
  • DB Inc.
  • Hanyang Digitech Co., Ltd
  • Hyundai Ezwel Co., Ltd.
  • SALTLUX Inc
  • Taihan Fiberoptics Co., Ltd
Last Updated on 30 Mar, 2023

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