LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's No. 3 mobile carrier, said Wednesday its net profit advanced 33.9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, helped by a decrease in marketing expenditures.
Net profit came to 110 billion won ($95.8 million) in the January-March period, compared to the 82.2 billion won posted a year earlier, the company said in its regulatory filing.
Operating profit moved up 10.3 percent over the cited period to 170 billion won, while sales increased 6.1 percent to reach 2.71 trillion won, LG Uplus added.
Industry watchers said the improved earnings came as LG Uplus reduced its marketing expenditures. The company currently takes up 20 percent of the market, compared with market leader SK Telecom Co.'s 50 percent.
LG Uplus added that its number of subscribers moved up 4.7 percent on-year in the first quarter to reach 12.1 million, with long-term evolution (LTE) service users taking up 10.1 million, or 84.2 percent.
The number of fixed-line subscribers, including users of high-speed Internet and Internet Protocol televisions (IPTVs), moved up 9.2 percent on-year to reach 10.42 million in the first quarter.
Shares of LG Uplus traded 1.37 percent higher at 11,100 won as of 1:09 p.m., when the KOSPI edged down 0.18 percent. The first-quarter report was released during the trade session. (Yonhap)