(LEAD) SKT's operating profit up over 1,000 pct, turns to black in Q3

SK Telecom, South Korea's leading mobile service provider, reported a staggering 1,041.3 percent increase in its operating profit for the third quarter of fiscal 2022, reaching 552.3 billion won ($411.4 million) compared to just 166.7 billion won in the same period last year, marking its first profit in over a year. The company's sales also grew by 13.1 percent year-on-year, amounting to 4.49 trillion won.

The primary drivers behind this impressive turnaround were SK Telecom's robust mobile service business and the rapid expansion of its ventures in artificial intelligence (AI). The company's AI data centers experienced a 6.2 percent increase in sales compared to the previous year, while other AI-related businesses saw a remarkable 27.3 percent growth.

To capitalize on this burgeoning sector, SK Telecom officially launched two wholly-owned subsidiaries, SK Hyper and SK Horizon, in July and August respectively. These new entities are tasked with managing the company's AI data center operations, with SK Hyper currently under construction in Ulsan and Seoul, set to generate a combined capacity of 180 megawatts.

The company also aims to integrate its homegrown AI foundation model into its enterprise AI services and further expand its AI service ecosystem by participating in a government-led AI service development project.