ASIA: SK Telecom posts revenue, earnings gains

Korean telecom operator SK Telecom Corp. Ltd. Co. (SKM) said it earned $521 million during the first quarter of this year on the back of $2.9 billion in total revenues. The earnings were a 35.7% increase compared with the first quarter of 2010, while total revenues inched up 2.7% year-over-year.
The carrier said revenues were bolstered by growing smartphone sales, which as of today totaled six million users, with plans to surpass 10 million smartphone users by the end of the year. The carrier began offering Apple Inc.’s iPhone during the quarter, joining rival KT Telecom, which had been the sole provider of the device.
SK noted that the increase in earnings was also impacted by the $141 million sale of its stake in SK C&C.
SK Telecom also said it was raising its full-year capital expenditures from $1.9 billion to $2.1 billion as it expands capacity of its 3G and LTE networks.
SK Telecom trialed LTE services last month with plans to launch commercial services later this year.