South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom said Thursday its second-quarter net profit rose 17 percent from a year earlier, helped by a rapid increase in subscribers for smartphones.

SK Telecom posted a net profit of 364 billion won (306.5 million dollars) in April-June compared to 311.6 billion won a year earlier. Sales increased 0.7 percent to 3.09 trillion won.

Operating profit rose 5.2 percent from a year earlier to 582.1 billion due to strong demand for more sophisticated cellphones.

SK Telecom started offering Samsung Electronics' latest hit smartphone, the Galaxy S, last month.

The company is expected to achieve its full-year revenue target of 13 trillion won by offering services that provide "greater customer benefits and convenience", chief financial officer Jang Dong-Hyun said in a statement.