Telecom carriers post strong H1 results

The top three major telecommunication carriers all reported rising revenues and profits in the first half of the year, despite the challenges posed by nationwide moves to boost internet speeds and reduce costs.

The total combined revenue and net profit of the three telecom operators hit 733.9 billion yuan ($107 billion) and 81.8 billion yuan, respectively, in the first six months.

The big three - China Mobile Communications Corp, China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd and China Telecommunications Corp Ltd - earned an average of 450 million yuan a day in the first half of this year, up from 429 million yuan a day the year earlier.

China Unicom posted a 232 percent jump in net profit to hit 2.6 billion yuan, the highest of the three in terms of profit growth.

Analysts said the strong growth momentum revealed that the country's mixed-ownership reform is generating results.

State-owned China Unicom announced in August last year it would attract industry heavyweights including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Tencent Holdings Ltd, Baidu Inc and JD as private investors, to streamline its organization, cut redundant departments and boost efficiency.

"China Unicom is losing weight faster and on a larger scale than we expected, which highlights the State-owned heavyweight's determination to rejuvenate itself with new passion," said Xiang Ligang, a telecom veteran and CEO of industry website Cctime.

China Telecom said on Monday that its revenue amounted to more than 193 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a 4.7 percent rise year-on-year.

Yang Jie, chairman of China Telecom, said in a report that the company will continue to seek new growth points as emerging businesses have great potential in the market.

China scrapped domestic data roaming charges from July 1 to ensure more affordable services. Rates for mobile internet services are expected to drop by at least 30 percent this year.

The move places pressure on telecom operators' revenue and profit growth, as earnings from mobile data services are an important source of revenue and core business.

"The lowering of mobile internet fees, increasingly fierce competition and the deeper integration of industries have brought about challenges. However, the company has maintained growth momentum in the private, household, enterprise-level and emerging markets," said Shang Bing, chairman of China Mobile.

China Mobile, the world's largest mobile carrier by subscribers, reported a net addition of 18.61 million mobile customers in the period, bringing its total users to more than 900 million.

Its total revenue was 391.8 billion yuan in the first half of the year, an increase of 2.9 percent year-on-year. Its household broadband revenue rose 49.1 percent to 21 billion yuan.