South Korea's three mobile carriers are expected to have posted modest growth in sales in the second quarter but have suffered slight falls in their operating income due to increased marketing costs, industry data showed Saturday.

According to the data compiled by industry tracker FnGuide, the three companies -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- are forecast to have racked up combined sales of 13.03 trillion won (US$11.3 billion) in the April-June period, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier.

Their operating income is estimated at 1.01 trillion won for the just ended quarter, down 0.7 percent over the cited period, the data showed.

The slight fall in their combined operating income is because of an increase in marketing costs estimated at 2 trillion won.

Industry leader SK Telecom's second-quarter revenue is estimated to have risen 1.2 percent on-year to 4.32 trillion won, and its operating income is estimated at 404 billion won, down 0.8 percent from a year earlier.

Sales of the No. 2 player, KT, are estimated at 5.73 trillion won for the second quarter, up 0.9 percent from the year earlier period, with its operating income estimated at 407 billion won, down 4.8 percent over the cited period.

The smallest, LG Uplus, is expected to have fared well in the second quarter with sales of 2.98 trillion won and operating income of 197 billion won, which marks 3.5 percent and 9.3 percent rises, respectively, from a year earlier. (Yonhap)

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