Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) yesterday said revenue this year would grow up to 2.8 percent year-on-year, bolstered by the continued migration of 4G subscribers to high-speed 5G services.
Annual revenue, which grew 3 percent last year to NT$216.74 billion (US$7.3 billion), would continue to expand to between NT$221.27 billion and NT$222.79 billion, the nation’s biggest telecom said.
The company’s monthly subscriber fees last month surged as 4G users switched to 5G services, which helped boost its mobile services revenue in the final quarter of the year by 5.8 percent sequentially, the telecom said.
Photo courtesy of Chunghwa Telecom Co
“We are optimistic about our progress in 5G penetration. The market has been developing in a positive [direction]. We believe that will contribute to our revenue modestly,” Chunghwa Telecom chief financial officer Chen Yu-shen (陳宇紳) said in response to an investor’s question about its 5G business’ revenue contribution and 5G penetration rate this year.
The company expects its 5G penetration rate to climb further this year, but it declined to disclose its internal target.
As of Nov. 30 last year, Chunghwa Telecom had accumulated about 2.39 million 5G users, the most among local telecom operators. That accounted for 21.73 percent of the company’s total mobile users of 11 million, National Communications Commission’s statistics showed.
The telecom industry’s consolidation would further push up 5G adoption, Chunghwa Telecom president Harrison Kuo (郭水義) said yesterday.
The commission last month conditionally approved Taiwan Mobile Co’s (台灣大哥大) plan to take over Taiwan Star Telecom Co (台灣之星). It also approved Far EasTone Telecommunications Co’s (遠傳電信) plan to acquire Asia Pacific Telecom Co (亞太電信).
This change in the competitive landscape “will be positive for Taiwan’s telecom industry, as it will help market development and overall 5G adoption, as well as enhance growth,” Kuo said.
Chunghwa Telecom said it expects net profit this year to contract between 1.2 and 5.4 percent to between NT$34.55 billion and NT$36.1 billion, from NT$36.52 billion last year. Earnings per share would drop to between NT$4.45 and NT$4.65 from NT$4.71 last year, it said.
Operating costs and expenses would increase by 3.9 percent to 4.3 percent annually to between NT$176.6 billion and NT$177.29 billion this year, the company said.
Capital expenditure this year would grow 12 percent to about NT$35.32 billion from NT$31.53 billion last year, with about NT$23.35 billion to be allocated for non-
mobile businesses, such as deployment of new undersea cables, Internet data centers and fiber optics.
As investment in 5G base stations has peaked, Chunghwa Telecom said it plans to spend NT$11.97 billion on 5G-related services and ecosystem development.
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