Seoul – KT said it expects its sales to rise 26 percent on-year to 24 trillion won (US$19.2 billion) this year on diversified services that combine mobile and fixed-line telephony. Its operating profit is likely to reach 2 trillion won this year, up from an earlier estimate of 1.8 trillion won, KT said in a statement marking the official start of its operations as a new entity after completing a merger with mobile unit KTF. The company also said it will seek to record 27 trillion won in total sales in 2012, the bulk of which, or 21 trillion won, is expected to come from mobile, fixed-line and internet services. The merger created a telecom giant with 24 trillion won in assets and a workforce of 38,000. KT controls more than 90 percent of South Korea’s wired telephone market and services nearly 45 percent of broadband internet users, while KTF had a nearly 30 percent share of the mobile phone market, compared with South Korea’s No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom’s 50 percent. In 2008, KT’s net profit plunged 54 percent to 449.3 billion won, with sales falling 1.3 percent to 11.7 trillion won, while KTF posted a net profit of 164.6 billion won, with sales climbing 14.4 percent to 8.35 trillion won.