Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) yesterday said its information and communications technology (ICT) services revenue is expected to grow by a double-digit percentage this year on the back of demand for its smart city and smart medical services outgrowing most business segments.
The company said that strong momentum continues from last year, when the ICT segment reported a 28 percent annual revenue expansion and accounted for about 20 percent of its total revenue.
Far EasTone has clinched smart city projects to enable real-time traffic management in the nation’s metropolitan areas. It also assists local medical facilities to conduct remote medical services in distant areas.
Photo: CNA
The company’s other products include smart meters, electric charging and harbor energy management solutions, it said.
The company said that apart from launching more ICT and value-added services, it is stepping up merger and acquisition efforts this year, focusing on start-ups, after spending more than NT$1 billion (US$31.22 million) in such activities last year.
Cross-industry investments have helped the company reach a wider audience as reflected by its acquisition of Insynerger Technology Co (思納捷科技), Far EasTone president Chee Ching (井琪) said at a media gathering in Taipei.
After merging with smaller peer Asia Pacific Telecom Co (亞太電信) in 2023 and absorbing its losses, Far EasTone expects big growth this year, Ching said.
The company said it expects this year’s revenue to increase 6.5 percent year-on-year to NT$117.48 billion, with NT$3 billion from its electronic toll collection subsidiary Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co (FETC, 遠通電收).
Excluding FETC, revenue is projected to increase about 3.5 percent from last year’s NT$110.3 billion, the company said.
The company expects its 5G subscribers to comprise more than 50 percent of subscriptions this year, up from 47.5 percent last year, outpacing local peers, Ching said.
The company said a larger 5G customer base helped boost its mobile service revenue to a nine-year high of NT$62 billion last year, thanks to a 40 percent increase in monthly 5G rates.
Mobile services revenue still made up a bulky 45 percent of revenue last year, it added.
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