SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top wireless carrier, said Wednesday its third-quarter net income rose 88 percent on-year thanks to growth in 5G users and equity gains.

Net income stood at 736.5 billion won ($623.3 million) in the July-September period on a consolidated basis, compared with 391.8 billion won a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing.

Operating income rose 11.71 percent to 400 billion won over the same period, while sales increased 4.99 percent to 4.96 trillion won.The telecom operator said its bottom line got a boost from growth in its 5G subscriber base and equity gains from its affiliates, including major memory chipmaker SK hynix Inc.

Equity gains totaled 743.5 billion won in the third quarter, compared with 265.9 billion won the previous year, the company said in a statement.

SK Telecom's mobile service revenue in the third quarter continued to grow, reaching 2.57 trillion won, up 3.3 percent on-year.

As of end-September, SK Telecom had 8.65 million 5G subscribers, compared with 7.7 million at the end of June.

SK Telecom's new tech businesses, ranging from media to online commerce, also logged robust growth, with its sales reaching 1.63 trillion won, up 6.9 percent from the previous year as the mobile carrier prepares to split into two in November by creating a new investment-focused company.

On Nov. 1, SK Telecom split into two companies, spinning off the new investment company SK Square in the latest move to make aggressive investments in new tech and semiconductor businesses.

The remaining entity will largely focus on SK Telecom's traditional telecom business and also pursue new technology, including metaverse-based services and artificial intelligence.

SK Telecom's shares stop trading on the local bourse from Oct. 26 to Nov. 26. (Yonhap)