AI, media biz push KT's earnings up

By Kim Bo-eun

KT's businesses in artificial intelligence (AI) and media drove its earnings for 2020, the telecom firm said Tuesday. This development has placed KT's transformation into a global platform company on track, it said.

KT saw its operating and net profit for 2020 climb to 1.18 trillion won and 703.4 billion won, respectively, each seeing a 2.1 percent and 5.6 percent improvement from 2019.

KT's platform business drove earnings, with sales from B2B digital businesses growing 11.8 percent from the previous year. Businesses in Internet data centers and cloud computing saw two-digit growth, as companies accelerate their drives to go digital.

KT is expanding its customer base for cloud projects, centering on public and financial institutions. KT is also expanding its AI contact center solutions, based on speech-to-text and personalized text-to-speech technologies to conglomerates, financial firms and education institutions.

Sales from the blockchain business surged nearly sevenfold from 2019, as local governments increased issuance of their cash equivalents in the form of certificates, in a move to bolster businesses affected by COVID-19.

IPTV sales also contributed largely to KT's sales. KT said IPTV sales grew 7.7 percent from a year earlier, based on an influx of subscribers, as partnerships were expanded to offer a greater variety of content.

Last year, KT CEO Ku Hyeon-mo unveiled plans to turn the telecom firm into a globally competitive platform company.

KT is seeking to find growth opportunities by providing digital services utilizing artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing for business clients.

The company also sees opportunities in the Korean New Deal project, which centers on digital and green development.

KT is in the process of restructuring to better align itself to businesses driving future growth. Aside from businesses in digital transformation, KT is also seeking to strengthen media content, commerce and finance as core business areas. As part of related efforts, KT set up a new unit, KT Studio Genie, to be in charge of its media content business.

"In 2021, KT will be a company that grows in a differentiated way by expanding its digital platform business and changing its business portfolio drastically," KT's finance chief Kim Young-jin said.

“In B2B communications, where KT is No.1 in the market, we will combine AI, big data and cloud computing to develop new digital transformation business models to further expand our market share.”