KT Earnings Slump Puts Focus on Cyber Costs and Return to ‘5 Trillion Club’

KT posted weak results after taking a direct hit from an unprecedented cyber breach. Revenue fell 1% from a year earlier, while operating profit dropped 29.9%. The telecom business weighed on overall performance, but the real estate division reportedly helped offset part of the decline. As the latest results include one-off costs related to the cyber incident, some views suggest annual earnings could remain relatively sound once those costs are cleared. Attention now turns to whether KT can show a path back to the mobile carrier “5 trillion club.” Source: mk.co.kr