Business · Companies · 8 hrs ago
KT's third-quarter operating profit falls 6.1% as AI orders rise
South Korean telecom company KT reported a 6.1% drop in third-quarter operating profit to 505.3 billion won compared with a year earlier.
Revenue also fell 1.8% to 6.9975 trillion won.
The profit decline reflected last year's one-time property sales gain, along with customer compensation and higher costs for AI transformation work.
KT's B2B and AI transformation orders rose more than 20% in the first nine months of the year from the same period in 2025.
The company plans to expand its AI data center capacity to more than 1 gigawatt by 2031, with six new centers scheduled to open in stages.
KT expects revenue from major AI data center projects to begin growing in the fourth quarter, as it pursues longer-term growth in AI services.
KT reported third-quarter operating profit of 505.3 billion won, down 6.1% from a year earlier.
Revenue fell 1.8% to 6.9975 trillion won.
KT attributed the operating-profit decline partly to a comparison with one-off property-sale gains recorded a year earlier.
The company said cumulative orders for its business-to-business and AI transformation businesses rose by more than 20% year on year.
KT aims to expand its AI data-center capacity to more than 1 gigawatt by 2031.
- Who
- KT, the South Korean telecommunications company.
- What
- Third-quarter operating profit was 505.3 billion won, down 6.1% year on year.
- When
- The results were announced on November 10, 2026.
- Where
- South Korea. The articles do not specify a more precise location for the announcement.
- Why
- KT cited the comparison with one-off property-sale gains from a year earlier, as well as customer compensation-program effects and higher AI transformation costs.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
KT’s customer reward program ended.
KT completed a 250 billion won share buyback.
KT launched its Token Factory platform for choosing AI models and managing costs and safety.
KT announced third-quarter operating profit of 505.3 billion won, down 6.1% year on year.
KT plans to begin operating a new data center in Bucheon.
- Third-quarter operating profit
- 505.3 billion won, down 6.1% year on year
- Third-quarter revenue
- 6.9975 trillion won, down 1.8% year on year
- B2B and AX orders
- Cumulative orders rose more than 20% year on year
- AI data-center target
- More than 1 gigawatt of capacity by 2031
- Quarterly cash dividend
- 600 won per share, scheduled for payment on November 12
3 sources
What people are saying
We will do our best to improve corporate value by restoring profitability in our core telecommunications business and fully pursuing growth in B2B and AX.