China Unicom reported 1H2018 service revenue of to RMB134.4 billion, representing an 8.3% year-on-year growth, topping rivals China Mobile and China Telecom.
EBITDA amounted to RMB45.7 billion, up by 4.9% year-on-year. The profit before income tax reached RMB7.8 billion and the profit attributable to equity shareholders of the company increased by 145% year-on-year to RMB5.9 billion.
China Unicom attributed its improving condition to the mixed ownership reforms undertaken one year ago at the behest of the central government. China Unicom has been increasing its level of collaboration with Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com and DiDi, especially in outreach areas for the youth market.
Mr. Wang Xiaochu, Chairman and CEO of China Unicom said, “Looking ahead, by unleashing
the unique edges, the Company will persevere in the implementation of the Internet-oriented
operation, creating differentiated competitive advantages. Centred on return and efficiency, and
riding on Internet-oriented operation transformation, the Company strived to enhance total-factor
development efficiency. The Company will enhance its key capability in network, IT and
management on all fronts to provide a solid foundation for the healthy and sustainable
development of various businesses. We will step up investments appropriately for nurturing the
future growth engines. Seizing opportunities afforded by the mixed-ownership reform, we will
deepen strategic cooperation and further advance the system and mechanism reform, accelerating
the delivery of benefits from the reform and comprehensively enhancing the Company’s overall
competitive strengths with a view to creating greater value for shareholders.”
Some highlights:
- Mobile service revenue reached RMB84.3 billion, representing a year-on-year growth of 9.7%
- Mobile billing subscribers achieved a net increase of 17.86 million, reaching a total number of 302 million mobile billing subscribers.
- Mobile ARPU amounted to RMB47.9, which was largely stable compared to the full year of 2017.
- The 4G subscriber base saw a net increase of 28.23 million in 1H2018 to a total of 203 million.
- The 4G subscriber market share was up by 3 percentage points year-on-year.
- The proportion of 4G subscribers in total mobile billing subscribers increased by 16 percentage points year-on-year to
- over 67%.
- Fixed-line broadband access revenue amounted to RMB21.5 billion, which was largely stable compared to the same period last year.
- The number of fixed-line broadband subscribers increased by 2.38 million on a net basis to 78.92 million.
- Video service subscribers accounted for over 43% of the fixed-line broadband subscribers, up by 10 percentage points year-on-year.
- 4G BTS: 910K (up by 60K), focus on capacity expansion & experience
enhancement - Actively deploy 10G PON & other new technologies in Northern China
to progressively achieve 1,000Mbps access capability
China Unicom’s US$11.7B strategic investment brings advantages
China United Network Communications Group (China Unicom or 中国联通), the fourth largest mobile operator with over 270 million subscribers, recently closed a deal that will bring in US$11.68 billion in cash from top Chinese tech companies. Under the deal, the Shanghai-based holding company of China Unicom, will sell a 35.2% stake worth RMB 78 billion to 14 strategic investors, including the following. The deal is backed by the Chinese government, which…