SK Telecom Co. reported third-quarter net profit of 411.8 billion won (US$306.1 million), reversing a loss of 166.7 billion won a year earlier. Operating income surged 1,041.3% year on year to 552.3 billion won (US$411.4 million), while revenue rose 13.1% to 4.4973 trillion won, or about 4.49 trillion won. Operating profit exceeded 500 billion won for a third consecutive quarter, indicating a return toward earnings normalization after last year's SIM information leak. A favorable base effect from compensation costs booked a year earlier was a decisive factor, while mobile and fixed-line communications, AI data centers and other AI businesses also supported results. AI data-center sales increased 6.2% year on year and other AI-related sales rose 27.3%. SK Telecom established wholly owned subsidiaries SK Hyper and SK Horizon in July and August to oversee its AI data-center business. SK Hyper is building facilities in Ulsan and Seoul with combined capacity of 180 megawatts. The company plans to apply its indigenous AI foundation model to enterprise services and expand its AI ecosystem through a government-led AI service development project. It set its third-quarter dividend at 830 won per share, unchanged from the first and second quarters. An SK Telecom executive said the company plans to connect its mobile and AI businesses under one growth strategy and increase their synergy.