The telecom operator raised its interim dividend by about 8% and expanded its Paju AIDC project after saying the first server building is already fully contracted.
LG Uplus said on July 29 it will repurchase an additional ₩90 billion (approximately $62.1 million) of its own shares while investing about ₩1.3 trillion (approximately $896.4 million) in the second phase of its Paju Artificial Intelligence Data Center (AIDC). The board-approved moves pair a shareholder return push with a major expansion of AI infrastructure capacity. The company said in a regulatory filing that it will sign a trust agreement to acquire treasury shares from August 14 to February 13 of next year. Based on the previous day's closing price of ₩14,620 (approximately $10.08), the plan covers about 6.15 million shares. LG Uplus said the repurchased stock will be used to enhance shareholder value, including possible cancellation. The buyback extends the "Value-up Plan" announced in November 2024. Since then, LG Uplus has continued buyback and cancellation efforts, including canceling about ₩100 billion (approximately $69.0 million) in treasury shares in August last year and canceling all ₩80 billion (approximately $55.2 million) of shares additionally acquired since last year in May this year. Including the latest program, total repurchases since the plan's launch reach ₩270 billion (approximately $186.2 million), of which ₩180 billion (approximately $124.1 million) is slated for cancellation. LG Uplus also raised this year's interim dividend to ₩270 (approximately $0.19) per share, up about 8% from a year earlier, for a total payout of about ₩114.6 billion (approximately $79.0 million). The dividend yield is 1.8%, with an August 13 record date and August 28 payment date. On the growth side, the company will invest from August 1 to November 30, 2028 in the second phase of the Paju AIDC, a 200MW (megawatt) data center that it described as the largest in the Seoul metropolitan area. LG Uplus called the site the core hub of "One LG" AI infrastructure, combining LG Electronics' liquid cooling, LG Energy Solution's high-performance UPS (uninterruptible power supply) batteries, and LG Uplus's 27 years of data center operating experience. The company said the first server building, due for completion in June next year, is already fully contracted, underscoring strong demand for AI-ready data center capacity. The new spending will fund the second and third server buildings, related facilities, and design work for a fourth building. LG Uplus also joined the steering committee of the "AIDC Alliance," a public-private partnership launched the same day with South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and about 400 industry, academic, and research institutions. The alliance is aimed at strengthening competitiveness in the AI data center industry and promoting it as a national strategic industry.