Telco's subscribers exceed 600m
Source: Bloomberg News |
April 21, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA Mobile Ltd has become the world's first phone firm to exceed 600 million subscribers as it signed up more rural customers in the first quarter.
China Mobile added 16.8 million subscribers in the first three months, up 3 percent from the 584 million customers at the end of December, the telco said yesterday.
With mobile devices now accounting for 75 percent of China's 1.2 billion phone users, the Beijing-based telco is getting most of its new additions from rural customers who spend less on their monthly phone bills. As a result average revenue per user, or ARPU, for the three months ended March 31 fell to 67 yuan (US$10.26), from 76 yuan at the end of December, the telco said.
"This subscriber number is pretty good," said Jim Tang, an analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Securities Co in Shanghai who rates the shares "neutral." "It's mostly low-end subscribers, which is why you see single-digit profit growth," he said.
First-quarter net income gained 5.4 percent to 26.9 billion yuan, from 25.5 billion yuan a year earlier, the telco said. Sales rose 8.3 percent to 118.2 billion yuan.
Profit in the first quarter was projected at 26.8 billion yuan, on sales of 119 billion yuan, according to the median of four analysts' estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
"The new customers were mainly low usage customers," Chairman Wang Jianzhou said in a statement. "ARPU and average revenue per minute of usage continued to decline."
He aims to battle the fall in per-user revenue by expanding sales of value-added data services.
China Mobile added 16.8 million subscribers in the first three months, up 3 percent from the 584 million customers at the end of December, the telco said yesterday.
With mobile devices now accounting for 75 percent of China's 1.2 billion phone users, the Beijing-based telco is getting most of its new additions from rural customers who spend less on their monthly phone bills. As a result average revenue per user, or ARPU, for the three months ended March 31 fell to 67 yuan (US$10.26), from 76 yuan at the end of December, the telco said.
"This subscriber number is pretty good," said Jim Tang, an analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Securities Co in Shanghai who rates the shares "neutral." "It's mostly low-end subscribers, which is why you see single-digit profit growth," he said.
First-quarter net income gained 5.4 percent to 26.9 billion yuan, from 25.5 billion yuan a year earlier, the telco said. Sales rose 8.3 percent to 118.2 billion yuan.
Profit in the first quarter was projected at 26.8 billion yuan, on sales of 119 billion yuan, according to the median of four analysts' estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
"The new customers were mainly low usage customers," Chairman Wang Jianzhou said in a statement. "ARPU and average revenue per minute of usage continued to decline."
He aims to battle the fall in per-user revenue by expanding sales of value-added data services.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
