[THE INVESTOR] SK Telecom said on July 27 that its second-quarter operating income increased by 3.9 percent from a year earlier.

Operating profit came to 423.3 billion won (US$380.3 million) in the April-June period, the mobile carrier said in a regulatory filing.

Sales also increased 1.8 percent on-year to reach 4.34 trillion won during the cited period, the company said.

The figures hovered above the market forecasts. The company posted the modest result for the second quarter as the sales for its subsidiaries, SK broadband and SK Planet, posted 730.1 billion won and 274 billion won, respectively.

However, the company posted a slight fall in its operating income when excluding the result of the subsidiaries due to a rise in marketing costs that increased 6.5 percent on-year to 767.7 billion won during the same period.

Operating income of SK Telecom decreased 3.3 percent on-year to 462.3 billion won in the second quarter, the company said.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)