KT (NYSE:KT) management highlighted improved earnings, expanding AI and cloud initiatives, and an increased shareholder return program while addressing the fallout from last year’s data breach during its fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter and full-year earnings call.
Management addresses data breach and outlines remediation efforts
Chief Financial Officer Min Jang opened the call by apologizing to shareholders and customers for “the inconvenience and concerns” stemming from last year’s data breach incident, calling it an impetus to strengthen KT’s network and cybersecurity resilience and to “regain trust from the customers.”
- Free USIM replacements
- Cancellation fee waivers
- A customer appreciation package
Management noted these steps will raise costs in the short term, but said the decisions reflect the view that customer trust is critical to long-term corporate value. Beyond near-term actions, KT said it is pursuing structural improvements to its security framework, including creating an Information Security and Innovation Task Force directly under the CEO, integrating and reorganizing distributed security organizations, and strengthening governance including expanded authority for the chief information security officer (CISO).
KT also disclosed plans for approximately KRW 1 trillion of information security investment over five years, aimed at expanding a Zero Trust security framework, enhancing AI-powered integrated monitoring, and strengthening access control and encryption.
FY2025 financial performance: revenue up 6.9%, operating profit up 205%
KT reported FY2025 operating revenue of KRW 28,244.2 billion, up 6.9% year over year. Operating profit rose 205% to KRW 2,469.1 billion, which management attributed to continued growth in core businesses including telecom, real estate, cloud, and data centers, along with profitability improvement efforts and one-off gains from real estate projects.
Net income increased 340.4% year over year to KRW 1,836.8 billion. EBITDA rose 35.5% to KRW 6,349.3 billion.
Operating expenses were essentially flat year over year at KRW 25,775.1 billion. The company said higher selling and administrative expenses tied to subscriber growth were offset by lower labor costs and depreciation, along with more efficient spending.
On the balance sheet, KT reported a debt-to-equity ratio of 120.7% at the end of 2025, while net debt-to-equity fell 0.4 percentage points year over year to 37.4%.
Total capital expenditures by KT and major subsidiaries in 2025 were KRW 2,939.7 billion, including KRW 2,143.9 billion on a standalone KT basis and KRW 795.8 billion by major subsidiaries.
Business highlights: 5G penetration, cloud growth, and real estate contributions
In wireless, KT said revenue increased year over year to KRW 7,155.4 billion, driven by subscriber expansion centered on 5G. 5G penetration reached 81.8% as of the end of 2025.
In fixed-line services, broadband revenue rose 1.9% to KRW 2,533.5 billion on growth in giga internet subscribers and expanded value-added services. Media business revenue grew 1.7% year over year, which management attributed to higher IPTV net additions and growth in out-of-home advertising revenue. Home telephony revenue declined year over year to KRW 658.9 billion.
KT said B2B service revenue increased 1.3% year over year despite the impact of streamlining lower-margin businesses. The company cited stable performance in network-based areas such as enterprise messaging and enterprise internet, alongside AI and IT growth of 3.1% driven by AICC and “design and build” initiatives.
Among subsidiaries, management said content subsidiaries’ revenue was flat year over year despite the divestment of “Play,” supported by growth at Studio Genie, Nasmedia, and Millie’s Library. KT Cloud revenue climbed 27.4% to KRW 997.5 billion, driven by higher data center utilization by global customers and expanding AI cloud demand. KT Estate revenue increased 15.9% to KRW 719.3 billion, reflecting strong hotel performance and new development projects.
AI and partnerships: Microsoft, Palantir, and AI data center expansion
KT discussed multiple initiatives aimed at what it described as the “AX market.” The company said it rolled out “SOTA K,” an AI model developed in partnership with Microsoft, in September and launched “Secure Public Cloud,” a security-enhanced cloud service, in November.
KT also said it is seeing greater visibility into business outcomes from its partnership with Palantir, particularly with financial-sector customers, as it explores consulting and solution-application opportunities.
In infrastructure, KT said it opened the Gasan AI Data Center in November, describing it as the first in Korea to commercialize liquid cooling technology. The company positioned the facility as a large-scale AI infrastructure hub in the Seoul metropolitan area capable of AI computation and data processing, and said it expects the center to help KT Cloud “cement its leadership” in the market.
Shareholder returns and CEO transition
KT said the FY2025 year-end dividend was set at KRW 600 per share, with a record date of Feb. 25. For the full year, the company said annual dividends per share increased 20% to KRW 2,400 in 2025 from KRW 2,000 in 2024, despite “temporary financial impact” related to the breach incident.
Management also reiterated plans to execute a KRW 250 billion share buyback and cancellation this year under its Corporate Value Enhancement Plan. KT added that value-enhancement efforts are being pursued at the group level as well, citing a mid-term dividend policy and cash dividend plan announced by KT Alpha, and a corporate value enhancement plan announced by Millie’s Library.
On leadership, KT’s board began the CEO appointment process on Nov. 4 and confirmed Park Yoon-young as the next CEO candidate on Dec. 16. Management said Park is known for expertise in B2B and future technologies and is expected to take office subject to approval at the annual general meeting.
During Q&A, management said the customer appreciation package was announced as providing customer benefits of roughly KRW 450 billion, but noted not all of that amount would necessarily be booked as cost, as it depends on customer utilization. KT said costs incurred in 2025 and costs “most certain” to occur in 2026 were already reflected in its 2025 numbers, and additional 2026 costs will be addressed in consultation with external auditors.
KT also said it is planning for 2026 earnings to be better than 2025. On shareholder returns beyond 2025, management said the policy from 2026 will be finalized by the incoming CEO and the board, but added it expects the direction to be broadly in line with market expectations given KT’s “progressive” shareholder return stance and its profit objectives.
Addressing wireless churn tied to a 14-day cancellation fee waiver period, KT said around 230,000 subscribers left during that window, but it still recorded net subscriber additions on a full-year basis due to prior gains. Management said it does not expect high growth in wireless and will focus on protecting profitability through operational efficiencies such as rationalizing selling expenses, distribution, and improving tailored offerings.
On B2B growth comparisons, KT argued that comparisons should account for KT Cloud as a separate subsidiary. Management said combining KT Cloud would imply overall revenue growth of about 6% year over year and indicated it does not view that as particularly weak given market size and KT’s share, adding that KT Cloud’s 27.4% growth is expected to continue.
About KT (NYSE:KT)
KT Corporation, listed on the New York Stock Exchange as an American depositary receipt under the symbol KT, is a major telecommunications and information technology provider headquartered in Seongnam, South Korea. The company’s services span traditional fixed-line voice communication, high-speed broadband internet access and mobile cellular networks. Leveraging an extensive fiber-optic and wireless infrastructure, KT delivers voice, data and multimedia solutions to both consumer and enterprise customers.
KT has been at the forefront of technological innovation in its home market, launching South Korea’s first commercial 5G network and expanding its offerings to include Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, cloud computing services and cybersecurity solutions.
