Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大), the nation’s second-biggest telecom, yesterday said its board has approved a higher cash dividend of NT$5.5 per share based on last year’s net income, which includes a special cash return.
That represented a 5.12 percent dividend rate, compared with Taiwan Mobile’s closing price of NT$107.5 yesterday. Taiwan Mobile made NT$14.69 billion, or NT$5.46 per share, last year.
The telecom issued a NT$5.16 cash dividend last year based on the net profits of the previous year.
Taiwan Mobile’s net profit contracted 6 percent annually in the first three months of this year to NT$3.81 billion, compared with NT$4.02 billion in the same period last year. On a quarterly basis, net profit dropped 5 percent from NT$4 billion. The quarterly net profit exceeded the company’s forecast by 8 percent, the company said.
However, the company missed its aggressive target because of weaker-than-expected demand for Apple Inc’s iPhone 5 and delays in shipments of HTC Corp’s (宏達電) flagship One model, company co-president Cliff Lain (賴弦五) told an investors’ teleconference.
This happened despite handset sales soaring 22 percent year-on-year to NT$4.95 billion last quarter from NT$4.07 billion the previous year. First-quarter handset sales accounted for only 89 percent of the company’s forecast, according to its financial statement.
Separately, the nation’s top telecom firm, Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), yesterday said its board had approved distributing NT$5.35 per share cash dividend based on last year’s net profits of NT$39.9 billion, or NT$5.14 per share, plus a special return.
That represented 5.7 percent in dividend yield, compared with the stock’s closing price of NT$93.8 yesterday.
Last year, Chunghwa Telecom distributed a cash dividend of NT$5.46 per share.
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