LG Uplus, the third-largest mobile carrier in South Korea, said Friday it has clocked a 11.5 percent on-year growth in operating profit in the first quarter, despite adverse market conditions due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The telecom affiliate of LG Group posted 3.28 trillion won ($2.69 billion) in revenue and 219.8 billion won operating profit during the January-March period, up 11.9 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Its net profit stood at 148.8 billion won, rising 12.2 percent from a year earlier.

“The first-quarter profit growth is attributable to the net increase in subscriptions to mobile, IPTV and broadband internet services,” the carrier said.

Due to increased indoor activities amid social distancing and staying-at-home trends, mobile payments, VOD sales and demand from data center companies surged as “untact” related businesses mushroomed.

Untact refers to non-face-to-face services.

The company said the incorporation of LG HelloVision, a cable TV channel operator, has contributed to increasing its profit.

The paid broadcasting service company posted 232 billion won in service sales, leading to revenue growth on a consolidated basis.

Despite lower sales of smartphones, LG saw a 6.2 percent on-year rise in its mobile service sales at 1.33 trillion won.

The accumulated number of 5G service subscribers recorded 1.45 million, up 24.9 percent from the previous quarter.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)