Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the nation’s biggest telecom service provider, on Monday reported that net profit last year increased 1.9 percent following the debut of 5G services, its first annual growth since 2015.
Net profit expanded to NT$33.42 billion (US$1.17 billion), up from NT$32.79 billion in 2019, and surpassed the company’s forecast of NT$30.91 billion to NT$32.47 billion.
That translated into earnings per share of NT$4.31, up from NT$4.23 in 2019.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Revenue last year remained little changed at NT$207.61 billion, up from NT$207.52 billion in 2019, but falling short of the company’s guidance of NT$214.1 billion to NT$215.29 billion.
Revenue from corporate customers, value-added services and handset sales offset a continual decline in revenue from voice calls, mobile services and roaming services, the company said, adding that 5G services gradually boosted its average revenue per user (ARPU).
Taiwan Mobile Co’s (台灣大) net profit last year fell 9.54 percent to NT$11.29 billion, down from NT$12.48 billion in 2019, due to 5G spectrum amortization and spending on 5G infrastructure.
That translated into earnings per share of NT$4.01, down from NT$4.51 in 2019, the company said.
Last year’s profit was better than the firm’s forecast of NT$9.47 billion, or earnings per share of NT$3.96.
By the end of last year, Taiwan Mobile had 400,000 5G subscribers, it said, adding that the higher tariffs helped slow a decline in mobile service revenue.
For the whole of last year, its postpaid ARPU fell to NT$657 from NT$722 in 2019, the firm said.
Taiwan Mobile’s revenue increased 6.78 percent to NT$132.86 billion, from NT$124.42 billion in 2019, thanks to a greater contribution from its e-commerce subsidiary Momo.com Inc (富邦媒體). More than half of Taiwan Mobile’s revenue came from Momo.com, which saw revenue soar about 30 percent to NT$67.2 billion last year from NT$51.83 billion in 2019.
However, Taiwan Mobile’s revenue fell below its guidance of NT$134.53 billion.
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co’s (遠傳電信) net profit last year fell 4.24 percent to NT$8.35 billion — beating its guidance of NT$8.02 billion — from NT$8.72 billion in 2019.
That translated into earnings per share of NT$2.56, down from NT$2.68 in 2019, the company said.
Revenue fell 5.21 percent to NT$79.5 billion from NT$83.87 billion in 2019 — missing the company’s guidance of NT$86.76 billion — despite annual growth of 13 percent from new services, including information and communications technology solutions, cloud-based programs and Internet-of-Things services.
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