KT - Q3 2023
November 7, 2023
Transcript
Operator (participant)
[Foreign language].
Good morning and good evening. Thank you all for joining this conference call, and now we will begin the conference of the 2023 Q3 Earning Results by KT. We would like to have welcoming remarks from Mr. Seung Hoon Ji, KT IRO, and then Mr. Youngjin Kim, CFO, will present earning results and entertain your questions. This conference will start with a presentation, followed by a Q&A session. If you have a question, please press star one, that is star and one on your phone during the Q&A. Now we would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Seung Hoon Ji, KT IRO.
Seung-Hoon Chi (Investor Relations Officer)
[Foreign language].
Good afternoon. I am Seung Hoon Ji, IRO of KT. We will now begin the earnings presentation for 2023 Q3 of KT. This earnings call is being webcast live on the company website. Slides are also available for you to follow while listening to the call.
[Foreign language].
Please note that today's presentation includes estimates of financial and operating performance based on K-IFRS that have not been reviewed by an outside auditor. As such, other than confirmed historical data, we cannot guarantee the accuracy and completeness of financial and business-related information and may change in the future.
[Foreign language].
Now, Mr. Youngjin Kim, CFO of KT, will present the earnings of Q3 2023.
Young-Jin Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language].
Good afternoon. I am Youngjin Kim, CFO of KT. Today, I will first go over the major business results of 2023 Q3.
[Foreign language].
KT has been continuing robust growth based on strong B2C, B2B business fundamentals and the growth of the group's core portfolio, including finance, media content, DX, and real estate.
[Foreign language].
As of Q3, consolidated and standalone service revenue recorded ₩6,697.4 billion and ₩4,673 billion, respectively, which is a 3.4% and 1.8% YOY growth, respectively.
[Foreign language].
Operating income in Q3 reached ₩321.9 billion in consolidated terms, and ₩193.4 billion on standalone basis, thanks to the early conclusion of collective salary negotiations and smoothing of content sourcing costs.
[Foreign language].
However, salary negotiations were reflected in Q4 last year, while we were able to smooth out content sourcing costs this year. In this regard, operating income has increased YOY in both consolidated and standalone basis to continue solid growth.
[Foreign language].
Excluding wage negotiations and content sourcing costs, moving operating income recorded ₩512.2 billion on consolidated basis and ₩383.7 billion on standalone basis in Q3, which is a 13.1% and 18.6% YOY growth, respectively.
[Foreign language].
In addition, on October 17th, KT announced the new midterm shareholder return policy, which is for the fiscal year 2023 to 2025 period. We are planning to use 50% of the standalone adjusted net income as resources for shareholder return.
[Foreign language].
Dividend per share should be maintained at a minimum of 2022 levels. We also plan to purchase and cancel treasury shares within the financial resources available for shareholder return. Quarterly dividend should be introduced after receiving approval at the ordinary general shareholders meeting in 2024.
[Foreign language].
KT will implement the digital service first strategy by leveraging the company's CT and IT strengths.
[Foreign language].
ICT capabilities are essential to offer differentiated and innovative digital services sought out by customers. As such, we will make utmost effort to integrate and strengthen the outstanding telco and IT strengths of KT.
[Foreign language].
We plan to boost corporate value by focusing on fundamentals based on the company's ICT capabilities to pursue quality growth.
[Foreign language].
Next, I will go over the business performance of 2023 Q3.
[Foreign language].
Operating revenue reached ₩6,697.4 billion, which is a 3.4% YOY increase.
[Foreign language].
Operating income recorded ₩321.9 billion, which is a 28.9% YOY decrease caused by reflection of collective salary negotiations and smoothing out of content sourcing costs.
[Foreign language].
Net income declined by 11.6% YOY to ₩288.3 billion, and EBITDA decreased by 7.3% YOY to ₩1.259 trillion.
[Foreign language].
I will now go over the operating expense on the next page.
[Foreign language].
Operating expense increased by 5.8% YOY to reach ₩6,375.5 billion.
[Foreign language].
The next slide is about the company's financial position.
[Foreign language].
The debt to equity ratio as of September 2023 stood at 134.9%, while net debt to equity decreased by 6.1 percentage points QOQ to 38.5%.
[Foreign language].
Next, I will go over CapEx.
[Foreign language].
KT Group's cumulative Q3 CapEx amounted to ₩2.253 trillion. On standalone basis, cumulative CapEx as of Q3 stood at ₩1.600 trillion. The group's CapEx, including the core business areas such as finance, media content, and real estate, recorded ₩652.8 billion. CapEx implementation is in line with the annual investment plan.
[Foreign language].
Now I will go over each business line.
[Foreign language].
We revised the revenue categorization system to better align revenue with our business direction, which is to concentrate on fundamental growth and to enhance intuitive understanding of our businesses. We have broken down revenue into wireless, fixed, and B2B service, and will work to deliver quality growth for each business line.
[Foreign language].
Revenue of the wireless business rose by 1.6% YOY to ₩1.7081 trillion.
[Foreign language].
5G subscribers recorded 9.51 million, which now covers 70% of total handsets. With travel gaining traction, roaming revenue has recovered to pre-COVID levels, and we are also solidifying our leadership in the MVNO market.
[Foreign language].
In particular, wireless revenue continues to show robust growth as we focus on premium subscribers, driven by quality growth rather than volume growth.
[Foreign language].
Next is the fixed-line business.
[Foreign language].
Broadband revenue rose by 3.2% YOY to ₩619.4 billion, thanks to increased demand for high quality services and growing giga subscribers.
[Foreign language].
Home telephony revenue decreased by 7.6% YOY to ₩186.3 billion.
[Foreign language].
Media revenue increased by 3.9% YOY, which was supported by the expansion of IPTV subscriber base, which was mainly driven by high ARPU subscribers.
[Foreign language].
Since rebranding KT IPTV to Genie TV in October last year, VOD and OTT usage doubled, cementing its role as a first media window at homes. We will continue to strengthen differentiated services that are sought out by customers to contribute to invigorating the domestic media ecosystem.
[Foreign language].
Next is B2B services.
[Foreign language].
B2B service revenue rose by 2.7% YOY, thanks to the monetization of enterprise DX backlog orders and a robust real estate market.
[Foreign language].
Revenue from corporate broadband and data slightly declined YOY due to rationalization of some low profit businesses. But main product segments showed balanced growth, as higher demand for social safety infrastructure drove sales of leased lines for CCTV and the KORNET business grew, supported by expansion of local and global CP customer base.
[Foreign language].
Enterprise DX continues to show growth as previously secured orders, such as the NDBN project, start turning into revenue.
[Foreign language].
DX demand of government and corporations is consistently rising. We expect B2B backlog orders to remain above ₩3 trillion this year. Also, AI new business revenue declined by 11.9% YOY to ₩106 billion, as some order placements are delayed and low profit projects are rationalized.
[Foreign language].
Meanwhile, the KT AICC service is accommodating a wide clientele, from large corporates to small and Mi:dm businesses, with a cloud-based subscription model to lead the AICC market.
[Foreign language].
In addition, KT launched Mi:dm, KT's large AI service, on October 31st. Mi:dm has four main lineups, ranging from light to super large models, to satisfy every corporate size and purpose. We will be focusing on key five areas, which are manufacturing, finance, public, education, and global markets as future growth drivers.
[Foreign language].
Next, I will go over the performance of main subsidiaries.
[Foreign language].
BC Card revenue saw 1.2% YOY growth to reach ₩995.7 billion, mainly driven by new businesses such as PLCC and loans.
[Foreign language].
SkyLife revenue decreased by 2.8% YOY to ₩260.5 billion, due to the decline in HCN subscribers despite growth of TPS.
[Foreign language].
KT Studio Genie and Sky TV released four original dramas and three original variety shows in Q3.
[Foreign language].
New Recruit Season Two topped the Monday, Tuesday drama rankings in terms of both buzz and viewership. Also, the viewership of Not Others, Longing For You, and The Kidnapping Day all showed upward trends, evidencing the strength of our content production capabilities based on strong storytelling.
[Foreign language].
Sky TV is also establishing a lineup of hit shows, with the successful launch of new seasons, creating massive buzz, such as I Am Solo and Iron Squad Three.
[Foreign language].
However, revenue from the content subsidiaries decreased by 3.6% YOY to ₩290.4 billion, due to contraction of the advertising and commerce market amid economic recession.
[Foreign language].
Revenue of KT Estate jumped by 30.3% YOY to ₩142.3 billion, thanks to higher office lease revenue and robust hotel business. In particular, the diversification strategy of the hotel business, launching customer bespoke packages while attracting corporate clients, was effective.
[Foreign language].
KT Cloud revenue rose by 34.5% YOY to ₩193.8 billion, driven by robust growth of private cloud project orders and the IDC business.
[Foreign language].
KT's large AI model, Mi:dm service, is offered with KT Cloud's AI full stack package, which helps customers reduce their AI introduction cost. We believe that this combination will contribute to the popularization of large AIs.
[Foreign language].
This concludes the earnings presentation of KT in Q3 2023.
[Foreign language].
As the digital innovation partner of Korea, KT will focus on strengthening our fundamental ICT capabilities and preemptively developing and launching services that maximize the customer experience to pioneer the transformation of the digital paradigm.
[Foreign language].
We ask for the continued interest and support of shareholders and analysts. Thank you.
Operator (participant)
[Foreign language].
For more details, please refer to the earnings presentation, which has been previously circulated. We will now begin the Q&A session. In order to allow as many Q&A opportunities as possible, we would appreciate only two questions from each participant. Thank you.
[Foreign language].
Now Q&A session will begin. Please press star one, star and one, if you have any questions. Please press star two, star and two, if you want to cancel questions. In order to allow as many Q&A chances as possible within the restricted time, we would appreciate only two questions per each participant. [Foreign language]. The first question will be presented by Hoe-jae Kim from Daishin Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
Hoi-Jae Kim (Research Analyst)
[Foreign language]?
Young-Jin Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language].
Hoi-Jae Kim (Research Analyst)
Good afternoon, I am Kim from Securities, and I have two questions. First is regarding the number of MNO subscribers. It seems that the number of subscribers, the gap between ourselves, KT and LG Uplus is reducing. What would be this number for KT, and how do you plan on responding to this reduction of gap of the MNO subscribers? My second question is regarding the earnings. In Q3, it seems that KT has slightly underperformed market expectations. It seems that this is because some of the costs that would be normally recognized in Q4 has already been recognized in Q3. What are those items? What would be your outlook for Q4 and also for the full year performance? Thank you.
Young-Jin Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language].
Thank you for the questions. I will answer the second question first, and then regarding your first question, we have the Head of the Customer Division here with us to entertain your first question.
[Foreign language].
Yes, I will first go over the standalone basis. So revenue in Q3 actually recorded over ₩4 trillion for two consecutive quarters, thanks to the following reasons. We have observed robust growth in the mobile, broadband, TV businesses, and the previously secured orders in the B2B business is now starting to generate revenue.
[Foreign language].
In Q3, you asked about some of the costs that were recognized earlier, costs that should have recognized in Q4. So regarding the salary negotiations, last year, those associated costs was recognized in Q4, but this year, those negotiations concluded early, so we recognized around ₩140 billion in related costs in Q3 this year. Then there's another ₩50 billion cost regarding the smoothing out of content sourcing costs. For these two reasons, the standalone basis, year-over-year, declined slightly.
[Foreign language].
This is more like a quarterly adjustment of cost recognition. These items should not impact the full year performance of the company. If you exclude the salary negotiations and the smoothing out of the content sourcing cost, the operating income in Q3 actually increased by 19% year-over-year.
[Foreign language].
As for your question regarding the outlook for Q4 and the full year performance, because some of the costs that would have been usually recognized in Q4 have already been recognized in Q3, on YOY basis, Q4 numbers should show improvement, and we will also make utmost effort to improve the full year performance compared to the previous year by year end.
[Foreign language].
Now I will briefly go over the consolidated performance of the company.
[Foreign language].
In Q3, we saw the main subsidiaries show robust growth, especially in finance, media, DX, and real estate. Thanks to the robust growth of all of these subsidiaries, we were able to see the highest revenue recorded ever since going public.
[Foreign language].
Just because of the economic recession, we did see some decline in the advertising and commerce segments, but BC Card, KT Cloud, and KT Estate all showed strong profitability, and so their contribution to the overall group's performance in Q3 has remained similar to previous years.
Hoi-Jae Kim (Research Analyst)
[Foreign language].
For the remaining months of this year, we will make efforts to ensure that the company's growth portfolio and the profitability of the main subsidiaries remain robust, so that on a full year basis, they can maintain a high contribution to the group's profits.
Hyo-Il Park (Head of the Customer Division)
[Foreign language].
Good afternoon, my name is Park Hyo-il, and I am the Head of the Customer Division, and I would like to answer your first question regarding the reduction of the gap of subscribers of MNO between KT and LG.
[Foreign language].
The recent increase in the number of subscribers or lines of our competitor, according to the numbers and statistics of the government, are solely based on IoTs, especially in the remote control devices. They are not coming from the actual human customers.
[Foreign language].
For your reference, I would like to highlight that, other than this, you know, remote control devices, so for example, vehicles and wireless payment devices, KT is still definitely the market leader.
[Foreign language].
Of course, each company will have their own strategy and will make business decisions accordingly.
[Foreign language].
However, I would just like to highlight that for KT, we are not really interested in low-end bidding projects that generate less than ₩1,000 per month in revenue, just to secure millions of lines at once, which is mainly happening in the IoT remote control device segment.
[Foreign language].
As a company, we are focused on profitability, the scalability of projects, technological innovation, and the possibility to build new ecosystems. We would not sacrifice these elements just to secure more volume growth.
[Foreign language].
We have been maintaining the gap on the areas of actual human subscribers, wearable devices, and second devices. We have been always concentrating on enhancing customer value to generate high quality revenue and profits.
[Foreign language].
As a result of these efforts, in terms of 5G penetration and ARPU, which are the main quality indicators of a telco company, we maintain the gap against our competitors.
[Foreign language].
As the 5G market enters maturity, the growth momentum can slow down in the future.
[Foreign language].
We will maintain our MNO service competitiveness by encouraging our LTE subscribers to change into 5G plans, and to ensure that the high-end customers maintain their first-tier plans, and to ensure that our 5G customers will be satisfied with new 5G plans, so that they can generate higher ARPU for the company. We are also focusing on new value-adding services to further enhance customer satisfaction.
[Foreign language].
Operator (participant)
Even in the MVNO market, we will be targeting the markets by different segments to enhance overall customer satisfaction, and we will also work to secure high ARPU customers, so that the MVNO business can also continue the growth of the wireless business.
Hyo-Il Park (Head of the Customer Division)
[Foreign language].
We will make utmost effort to ensure that we can continue the robust growth of our telco and wireless business as expected by our investors, by focusing on the fundamentals of our business and also continuing to make an effort to enhance customer value. Next question, please.
Operator (participant)
The following question will be presented by Jae min Ahn from NH Investment and Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
Jae-min Ahn (Senior Equity Research Analyst)
[Foreign language]
Good afternoon. My name is Jaemin An from NH Investment Securities. I have two questions. First, a new CEO has been appointed to KT. I don't think there has been a lot of communication regarding the new CEO's business strategy and direction. So can you give us some more color on that? Also, does the company have plans to encourage communication between the CEO and the market in the future? Second question is regarding the B2B business. KT is very strong in this market. I would like to know more about the strategy that you have and also the outlook that you foresee for the B2B market.
[Foreign language]
Young-Jin Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Thank you for those questions, Mr. Ahn.
[Foreign language]
I will like to answer your first question. So KT's large, the group direction is to make sure that the IT, fundamental IT capabilities generate quality growth in the B2B market, sustainable profits in the B2C market, and also to ensure that AI will serve as a foundation to encourage and trigger innovation and growth of overall KT. This is the main strategy of our CEO. To go into more detail, the B2B, we will be focusing on selective concentration based on IT capabilities, so that we can generate both revenue and profit growth. In the B2C segment, we will be focusing on launching customized services and also new services, to satisfy customers, so that the B2C business can serve as a cash cow for the company. As for leveraging AI, we will be using AI to develop new profit-generating business models.
At the same time, we will be using AI to come up with differentiated services and also to boost the overall productivity of the company. You also asked about the opportunities for communicating with the market. So we are currently developing the midterm strategy of the company, and once those strategies are crystallized, I think we will have an opportunity for our CEO to meet with market participants. I think that timing will be around early next year. You also asked about the B2B market. So KT has the widest and most extensive coverage in both wireless and fixed markets. We have a sales force that can reach out to the individual customers and to the various office buildings throughout Korea.
Recently, with the popularization of the digital transformation among corporates, the AI, big data and cloud capabilities are essential. We have all of these capabilities, and based on our capabilities, we are developing customized services for corporates. This is enabled by the various corporate products that we have. We will be continuously expanding our B2B business, taking advantage of the strength of the company and the digital transformation trend of the industry. We have the most, the extensive network, in the company, in the industry. Based on our IT fundamental capabilities, we will be developing differentiated services to further gain competitiveness. We will also be working to reform our cost structure to enhance profitability.
Based on the extensive coverage that I mentioned earlier, we will be leveraging the skills that we have in terms of providing stable services and the data security and overall network security skills. We will be working to provide end-to-end services that can enhance the customer convenience to strengthen customer satisfaction. We have key skills in telco, AI, big data, IDC, and cloud. Based on these skills, we have the capability to enhance a customer value. For example, we can use telco, AI, and big data capabilities to offer targeted marketing services and targeting advertising services. We can leverage the skills that we have in the telco and IT businesses to make unlimited offers to strengthen customer value. With the telco business becoming more of a platform business, we will be working to change the paradigm in this area.
For example, by combining telco, messaging, and intelligent networks, we can offer and build platforms for our customers so that our customers come up with new business opportunities. We also have launched Flexline, which offers flexible plans and flexible frequencies, so that they can develop the own services that can be satisfying for their own customers. So we are continuously making efforts to develop new values for our customers. With the 5G specialized network and other various capabilities of the company, we will be able to come up with the most optimal services that can satisfy the needs of each industry and customer. In the AICC business, we can leverage some of the mobility technology and services that we have.
These technologies and capabilities can help the company to drive internal quality growth of our DX services. We will also be focusing on some of the service subscription offers that we have to further generate growth here. Lastly, we have the cloud. Along with cloud and IDC, we have a large AI service, and we are working to pioneer this new market in Korea. We have extensive experience in the public cloud segment, and based on this extensive track record, we will be expanding into the corporate cloud segment. We also have experience in the SaaS and the public sector as well, so we can leverage this experience and combine it with the services offered by KT Cloud and other KT subsidiaries, to generate synergy and further penetrate this market.
In conclusion, with the advancement of technology and the digital transformation trend among our customers, I believe that we have the key capabilities that can take advantage of the growth of this segment. In that sense, our B2B business should continue to show robust growth. Combining our telco and IT, such as AI, big data, and cloud capabilities, we will be able to offer various services that are required to satisfy the needs of our customers, thereby becoming the digital innovation partner that is sought out by our main customer base. Thank you. We can move on to the next question.
Operator (participant)
The following question will be presented by Jisoo Jeong from Meritz Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
Jisoo Jeong (Analyst)
[Foreign language].
Good afternoon. My name is Jisu Jeong from Meritz Securities, and I have two questions. First, if you look at the results of your competitors, inflationary pressures, such as the utility cost and electricity costs, seem to have been a burden this quarter. So what was the inflationary pressures like for KT? And second, the AI competition among telcos in Korea is quite intensive at the moment. Can you give a little bit more color on your business strategies and your goals in the AI segment?
Young-Jin Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language].
Thank you for the two questions, Mr. Jeong. Your first question was about the inflationary pressures, such as the power costs.
Uh,
Yes, the inflationary pressures, including the utility cost, has been observed across the board, and KT is the same. We have seen inflationary pressures regarding electricity and some of the commission and fees as well, and this has had impact on our numbers.
Eh,
If you look at our utility electricity cost in special, it has increased in double digits, year-over-year basis, based on the steep increase of the unit cost of power. However, we have been making continuous effort to replace equipment and facilities that have been showing low energy efficiency, and we have been working to optimize our equipment and facilities. At the same time, we have been making effort to achieve structural cost reduction as well.
Uh,
Other than the main utility and fees cost, in order to enhance cost competitiveness in our overall businesses, we have been improving our business processes to become more efficient. We have been also leveraging AI and DX technologies to further increase our cost, improve our cost structure. For example, there may be some commissions regarding the opening of new handsets. We have been encouraging self-opening of new handsets for our customers, so that we can enhance the efficiency of our after service network in this area. Also, we have been applying AI to our call centers, and these efforts have led to higher productivity and also efficiency.
[Foreign language].
We will be making continuous effort to achieve structural improvement, to enhance both productivity and efficiency by improving our overall business processes. Of course, these are not one-off efforts. These are sustainable structural improvements, so they should have continued positive impact to our business.
[Foreign language].
Your second question was regarding the KT strength in the AI competition in Korea. On the thirty-first of October, we launched our large AI service, Mi:dm, and we will be starting our corporate business with our Mi:dm service in earnest very soon.
[Foreign language].
We launched four services from light to the large, super large models with the Mi:dm service. Currently our service lineup can satisfy every corporate size and purpose. We also work with KT Cloud to offer the full AI stack with the Mi:dm service. This means that even if a corporate customer does not have the infrastructure for development and learning for the AI service, we can offer the full package. This will significantly reduce the cost of introducing AI for our customers, and also we can offer customized services to our customers.
[Foreign language].
Like you mentioned, there are many players entering the large AI market. I believe that KT has largely three key strengths as key competitiveness against our peers.
[Foreign language].
The first is that we offer the light service all the way up to the super large service, so we are able to offer customized services for all of our customers.
[Foreign language].
The second is that we offer the full stack, including the Korean AI, software, hardware, and so on. We are the only Korean operator. We are the only operator in Korea that can offer the full stack of AI, because we have the cloud and AI and the cloud farm of the KT group, and the customers can leverage these capabilities of KT to develop customized services that will satisfy the exact need for their own business.
[Foreign language].
Yes, and our Mi:dm is embedded in the Korean system. So compared to our global competitors, in terms of the answers that the AI can provide and in terms of the security of the overall AI system, I believe we have the competitive edge.
[Foreign language].
Our initial goal would be to penetrate the private LLM market in Korea, because we have strong B2B customer base, and our current capabilities can help customers develop customized LLM models. We believe that the private LLM market will be a good start. At the same time, we have existing AI services, such as AICC and Giga Internet, so the large AI model can be applied to these existing services to boost profitability of these services. At the same time, they can be applied to our own business to boost the overall productivity and efficiency, further contributing to the profitability of the company.
[Foreign language].
Thank you. We can move on to the next question.
Operator (participant)
[Foreign language].
The following question will be presented by Jun Sop Kim from KB Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
Joonsop Kim (Analyst)
[Foreign language].
Good afternoon. My name is Jun Song, Jun Sop Kim from KB Securities. Thank you for the opportunity today. I have a question regarding IDC business. So what is KT's view in terms of the supply and demand situation of IDC in Korea? There are multiple operators, and many new data centers have been completed recently. At the same time, the data center projects, some of them are falling apart before they are completed. So what is KT's view in terms of mid-long term market outlook? And what would be the strategy of KT and KT Cloud in this area?
Young-Jin Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language].
Thank you for the question, Mr. Kim.
[Foreign language].
Your question was regarding the mid, long-term outlook of the Korean IDC market and the strategy of KT Cloud.
[Foreign language].
If you look at the Korean IDC and cloud market, corporates in Korea continuously are showing demand for digital transformation, which generates more demand for data centers. At the same time, the introduction of large AI models are continuing to support this growth momentum.
[Foreign language].
If you look at the mid, long term market outlook here, if you compare the demand and the supply, the demand is definitely outpacing the supply. I think the key strategy should be the ability to respond to this strong demand in a timely manner, and this trend should continue for the time being.
[Foreign language].
KT will leverage the key competitiveness in the IDC market to continuously pioneer and dominate the IDC market in Korea.
[Foreign language].
KT has more than twenty years of experience in building IDCs. We have the most superb network infrastructure in Korea, and our seven IDCs are located in geographically accessible Seoul and larger Seoul metropolitan area.
[Foreign language].
Currently we have around 150 megawatts. In the next five years, we plan to add 100 megawatts. By actively expanding the capacity, we plan to address the strong demand coming for these type of services.
[Foreign language].
KT is the only operator in Korea that can offer services that combine IDC, cloud, and network. Therefore, we have the ability to satisfy all types of various demands of customers. This is key strengths, and we will be leveraging these key strengths to further grow in this area.
[Foreign language].
Next question, please.
Operator (participant)
[Foreign language] Morgan Stanley [Foreign language].
The following question will be presented by Se Yeon Park from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead with your question.
Seyon Park (Analyst)
[Foreign language].
Thank you for the opportunity today. I have also a question regarding KT Cloud. KT Cloud has been showing very strong quarterly growth, and I was wondering the reason behind it. Is it due to some one-off factor, or is this 30% to 35% growth sustainable? What is your outlook for Q4 and 2024? I would also like to know a little bit more around the profit levels and the margins that you expect for KT Cloud. Thank you.
Young-Jin Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language]
Thank you for the question, Mr. Park. Regarding KT Cloud, there were extensive amounts of orders that we won last year in the public cloud and private cloud markets, and those previously secured orders are now turning into revenue. Also, the IDC in Yongsan has been completed. Due to these factors, in Q3, KT Cloud recorded 34.5% growth in revenue in YOY terms.
[Foreign language]
We believe that this growth momentum will continue as we solidify our leadership in the public cloud segment, as we continue the growth in the AI service business by offering the full stack AI, and also we are continuously adding new IDCs and implementing the price up strategy.
[Foreign language]
In 2022, KT Cloud's revenue amounted to ₩550 billion. We expect double-digit growth for this year, and this type of growth trend should be continued for the time being, next year as well.
[Foreign language]
You also asked about the profit and margin of KT Cloud. If you compare the operating margin of KT Cloud to the group average, it is slightly higher. But recently there has been some upfront investment, and also we have been attracting high quality talent as well, which can increase the overall cost levels that can bring down the margin. But like I've just mentioned, we are seeing strong growth coming from the cloud and IDC business and so on. The margin should show upward trend again and continue to show that trend for the time being.
[Foreign language].
Operator (participant)
[Foreign language].
Young-Jin Kim (CFO)
[Foreign language].
If there are no more questions, we will conclude the Q&A session. Thank you for your questions and interest in KT. Thank you once again for attending today's earnings call despite your busy schedule.
Operator (participant)
[Foreign language]
We will conclude the earnings call for KT for the third quarter of 2023. Thank you.