Getting More Profits
SK Networks said in a regulatory filing on July 29 that its preliminary second quarter sales stood at 4.6575 trillion won (about US$4.15 billion) while the operating profit and net income recorded 35.2 billion (US$31.3 million) and 16.2 billion won (US$14.4 million), respectively. Although its sales fell 9.7 percent from the same period of last year, the operating profit was maintained at the level of the previous year (a fall of 2.4 percent) and the net income went up 97.2 percent.
The company attributed the drop in sales to falling oil and raw material prices resulting from global economic recession and its failure to retain a license for its duty free shop. On the other hand, the company said that the drop in operating profit was maintained at the level of the previous year, generating stable earnings, thanks to the innovation of its key business models, efficient operation and good performance in life-car business including the car rental, imported vehicle maintenance and tire sales. Its reinforced marketing activity in hotel and resort business also contributed.
In the second half of this year, the company is going to increase management performance by improving customer service in the car-life business and consumer products business as well as to make efforts to strengthen its fundamental competitiveness in key businesses, trade, telecommunication retail and energy marketing businesses.
To that end this, the company is planning to expand trades based on the strong partnerships it has built with its business partners in Iran and other Middle East nations and to find new business opportunities through cooperation in trade business with local companies in Southeast Asian nations, including Vietnam and Myanmar. In terms of telecommunication retail business, it will work on the diversification of products such as wearable devices and accessories as well as on retail of new smart phones scheduled to be released in the second half of this year. In energy retail sector, it plans to push ahead with continuous upgrade of its customer-centered business models including Jamong, a mobile gas refueling service launched recently.
In car-life business, the core business in the future, the company intends to continuously increase the number of cars for rent and provide more economic and satisfactory services to customers through the innovation of its customer-centered services in the automobile aftermarket including domestic and imported vehicle maintenance, auto parts retail and tires.
Furthermore, it won a license for its duty free shop at the Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel, the only urban resort complex in Korea, to provide job security for its employees and employees of partner companies and create new jobs as well as to offer a stable shopping environment for Chinese and other foreign tourists.