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SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- LG Uplus Corp., a major mobile carrier in South Korea, said Thursday its second-quarter net income rose slightly from a year earlier, while its operating profit recorded the highest for any quarter.

The company's net income for the April-June period was 217.7 billion won (US$153.5 million), up 0.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the telecom operator's regulatory filing.

The network service provider under LG Group said its operating profit for the cited period rose 13.1 percent on-year to 344.5 billion won, the highest for any quarter. Sales decreased 3.9 percent to 3.69 trillion won.

The stronger-than-expected earnings were led by growth in the company's corporate infrastructure business, including its artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, as well as efforts to manage costs and improve profitability, the company said.

Revenue from its corporate infrastructure business rose 8.6 percent on-year to 464.4 billion won during the three-month period ending in June, with income from its AI data center sector posting a remarkable rise of 28.9 percent.

The company's mobile division maintained stable growth, with sales growing by 0.9 percent to 1.66 trillion won.

LG Uplus is building an AI data center of 200-megawatt capacity in Paju, north of Seoul, which it said would become one of the biggest AI-related infrastructure in the greater capital area.

It also plans to update its AI contact center system with large language model-based solutions by the second half of the year, with the goal to expand related business beyond the financial sector, the company said.

The telecom operator said it has carried out some 90 billion won worth of stock buybacks last month to improve corporate value. The company has set its interim dividend at 270 won, an increase of about 8 percent from last year.

fairydust@yna.co.kr

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