South Korean telecom giant KT Corp. said Tuesday it posted a net loss in the fourth quarter last year amid intensified competition at home with two rivals including top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co.

Net loss came to 300 billion won ($277 million) in the October-December period, compared with a net profit of 106.6 billion won a year earlier, the country's top fixed-line operator said in a regulatory filing.

Revenue remained almost unchanged on-year at 6.2 trillion won, while the company turned to an operating loss of 149 billion won.

For all of 2013, the company posted a net profit of 181 billion won, down 83.6 percent from the previous year. Revenue fell 0.2 percent to 23.8 trillion won over the cited period, while operating profit shed 27.7 percent to 873.9 billion won.

KT said the weak yearly performance came as the revenue from the fixed-line business shed 6.7 percent to 5.9 trillion won amid falling number of subscribers.

Market watchers said the improved performance of its mobile business was not sufficient to recoup dull earnings of the fixed-line sector.

KT's mobile business posted 6.97 trillion won in sales in 2013, up 0.9 percent from 6.91 trillion won tallied in 2012.

The company said its mobile business is expected to continue to gather ground on the back of rising number of users of long-term evolution, or LTE, services, which came to nearly 8 million in January, a twofold growth from 3.9 million at the end of last year.

The number of its smartphone users advanced 10.1 percent on-year to 11.2 million over the cited period, it added.

The company's wireless average revenue per user, a key gauge of profitability, also gained 6.2 percent on-year last year, implying rosy earnings outlook for 2014, it added.

Revenue of KT's media and contents division rose 25.3 percent to 1.3 trillion won over the cited period on the back of increasing number of subscribers of its Internet Protocol TV, or IPTV, services, which came to 4.97 million at end-December.

The combined operating profits of its affiliates -- BC Card, KT Skylife and KT Rental -- also reached 209 billion won last year, up 15.8 percent from the previous year, it added.

Shares of KT closed at 29,850 won Monday, down 1.16 percent from the previous trading session. The fourth-quarter earnings of the country's No. 2 mobile operator were released before the market opened.

In a separate report, KT said it plans to dole out 800 won per share in dividends. (Yonhap News)