China’s largest fixed line service provider China Telecom Corp, Ltd. said that net profits fell 27.5%.Net profits stood at 1.23 billion U.S. dollars in the first half. Earnings per share were 0.1 Yuan, the company said in its statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The company said it didn’t plan to pay an interim dividend, but would consider the matter at the end of the year.
The company added 4.78 million broadband users from the end of 2008 to 49.05 million by the end of June and mobile users increased by 11.37 million to 39.28 million. The number of fixed telephone users decreased 4.3 percent from a year ago to 199 million in the first half. The revenue from fixed-line voice services fell 18.7 percent from a year earlier to 41.06 billion yuan.
The company said it would improve its services and launch new 3G products in the next half to satisfy customers’ demands and to obtain a bigger market share. China Telecom said it had expanded its third generation (3G) mobile network to cover 342 cities and more than 2,000 counties at the end of July.
China Telecom’s statement said “The Company should increase investment in the marketing of mobile-phone services, which will enhance sustained development and add value in the long run although it will mean short-term pressure on the company’s profitability.”
Wang Liang, an analyst with Founder Securities, said the half-year result was in line with market expectations as the company increased spending on construction and marketing of the CDMA network in the first half.
This news is from China electronics manufacturer.