Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the nation’s largest telecoms operator, yesterday said its board has approved a higher cash dividend of NT$4.86 per share for shareholders this year on the back of its reduced budget for capital spending.
The issuance represents 5.02 percent in dividend yield based on the company’s closing price of NT$96.9 per share yesterday.
Last year, Chunghwa Telecom distributed a cash dividend of NT$4.425 per share after capital spending soared to a record high of NT$32.56 billion (US$1.03 billion) — mostly on 4G network deployment.
This year, the telecoms operator said it planned to spend NT$30.7 billion on network construction.
Last year, Chunghwa Telecom made NT$38.62 billion, or NT$4.98 per share, down 3.06 percent from NT$39.84 billion, or NT$5.14 a share, in 2013.
In related news, Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd (遠傳電信), the nation’s No. 3 telecoms operator, yesterday said its board has approved a cash dividend of NT$3.75 per share for shareholders, unchanged from last year.
The figure represented a 4.82 percent dividend yield, compared with Far EasTone’s closing price of NT$77.8 yesterday.
Far EasTone said this year it planned to spend NT$12.5 billion on network deployment, compared with last year’s record high of NT$13.2 billion.
With the new capital spending, Far EasTone expects its 4G coverage in the 700-megahertz band to reach 99 percent and 80 percent for its 1,800-megahertz band.
During a teleconference with investors, Far EasTone president Yvonne Li (李彬) said the company is optimistic about the company’s growth trend.
Li said she expects the company’s 4G subscribers to triple to 3 million this year from last year’s 1 million. That would represent a 50 percent 4G penetration rate for the company.
Total revenue this year is expected to grow 2.4 percent to NT$96.45 billion from last year’s NT$94.18 billion, Li said.
However, net profit would fall 3.5 percent to NT$11.08 billion this year from NT$11.48 billion last year, due to an increase in depreciation and amortization costs for its 4G equipment and license fee, she said.
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