Korean communications provider SK Telecom saw its second quarter net income plunge 74 percent to KRW 121 billion from KRW 465 billion a year earlier on lower phone fees and higher expenses. Revenues fell by 0.6 percent to KRW 4.02 trillion from KRW 4.04 trillion in the year earlier quarter due to the tariff cut last year which was only partially offset by the increase in LTE subscribers. Mobile revenues fell 2 percent to KRW 2.67 trillion. Expenses grew 8 percent to KRW 3.63 trillion on higher marketing and advertising costs to promote the new LTE service. EBITDA fell 23 percent to KRW 1 trillion and EBITDA margin fell 7.1 percentage points to 24.9 percent. SK Telecom ended Q2 with 26.66 million subscribers as the operator gained 103,000 net adds in the quarter. ARPU fell by KRW 1,000 to KRW 39,729.
