China Mobile 2007 net profit up 31.9 pct on subscriber growth (China)China Mobile Ltd said its net profit rose 31.9 pct last year to 87.06 bln yuan on strong subscriber growth, new businesses and airtime usage.
The earnings beat the forecasts of analysts surveyed by XFN-Asia, which had ranged from 82.59 bln to 86.24 bln yuan.
China’s largest mobile phone operator said operating revenue grew 20.9 pct in 2007 to 356.96 bln yuan from 295.36 bln a year earlier.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 21.6 pct to 194 bln yuan, while earnings per share rose 31 pct to 4.35 yuan.
It said the total number of subscribers stood at 369.34 mln as of end-December as it generated a total net increase of 68.11 mln subscribers for the whole of last year.
The average net monthly increase in subscriber numbers was over 5.67 mln.
It said the total airtime usage for the year reached 1.82 trln minutes and the monthly average airtime minutes used per customer was 455 minutes.
Average revenue per user per month (ARPU) was maintained at 89 yuan.
The company did not provide comparative figures for 2006.
China Mobile said its value-added business registered strong growth, with revenue from this business accounting for 25.7 pct of the group’s total operating revenue.
‘We intend to continue providing innovative value-added services based on carefully defined strategic plan and build a good product development structure and momentum for future growth,’ the company said.
China Mobile said the company is intensifying its push to develop the corporate customer market using different initiatives, including an expansion of the corporate customer base and further expansion of its corporate customer relations services.
China Mobile said it also continued to expand its international roaming services during the year.
As of end-2007, the company offered GSM roaming services through 350 operators in 231 countries and regions and GPRS roaming services in 161 countries and regions around the world.
It said the group is the sole mobile telecommunications services partner for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and it intends to maximize the opportunity of enhancing its corporate image and brand value during the games in August.
China Mobile chairman and chief executive officer Wang Jianzhou said the combination of continued rapid growth in China’s economy, rising consumer purchasing power, the development of the rural economy and acceleration of information services delivery will create fresh opportunities.
However, the group also expects to meet challenges as China’s telecom industry is restructured and the competitive environment undergoes changes, he said.
‘We will focus on innovations and new business model development,’ he said.
‘The group is readying itself for the introduction of next generation mobile telecommunications network and technology, including closely monitoring the long term evolution (of) network technology to ensure maximum momentum for future development,’ he said.
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