SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, on Thursday reported a 26.9 % fall in its net profit for the second quarter, hurt by a decline in equity method gains from its affiliate SK hynix Inc. 
SK Telecom earned 290.8 billion won (US$258.1 million) for the April-June quarter, compared with a profit of 397.8 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. 
Second-quarter operating profit stood at 407.4 billion won, down 1.3 % from the same period last year. Sales were little changed at 4.26 trillion won. 
SK Telecom's operating profit was below an analyst consensus of 420 billion won, according to data compiled by (Yonhap Infomax), the financial arm of Yonhap News. 
The results came despite curbs on SK Telecom's marketing spending, an industry survey showed Thursday. 
South Korea implemented a law early last year that kept fierce competition for customers among telecom firms in check. 
SK Telecom's second-quarter average revenue per user, a key indicator of a mobile carrier's profitability, fell 1.1 % on year to 36,205 won.