LG Uplus grew mobile revenue in the final quarter of 2020 due to strong uptake of 5G services, but booked a net loss as marketing costs for the launch of the iPhone 12 weighed on its bottom line.

The operator booked a loss of KRW224.7 billion ($201 million), compared with a profit of KRW103.3 billion in the same period in 2019. Consolidated revenue rose 10.9 per cent earlier to KRW3.52 trillion.

Wireless service revenue increased 6.7 per cent to KRW1.4 trillion. Handset sales fell 5.1 per cent to KRW767.2 billion.

Revenue from its IPTV, broadband and enterprise businesses increased 7.1 per cent, 10.4 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively to KRW517.3 billion, KRW226.3 billion and KRW366.6 billion.

Full year net income rose 8.9 per cent to KRW478.1 billion, while service revenue increased 15 per cent to KR10.6 trillion.

The operator added 1.6 million 5G subscribers in 2020 to close the year with 2.76 million. On an earnings call, the company targeted 4 million by end-2021.

Total mobile subscribers increased 4.1 per cent to 14.75 million: ARPU was flat at KRW30,926.

Full-year capex fell 8.7 per cent to KRW2.38 trillion, with investments in wireless infrastructure declining 29.8 per cent to KRW1.05 trillion.