New Broadband And 3G Users Push China Telecom To New Highs

Chinese telecom operator China Telecom published its financial report for the first three quarters of 2013.

According to the report, China Telecom's operating revenue reached CNY238.186 billion during the first three quarters of 2013, a year-on-year increase of 13.4%; its operating revenue excluding mobile device sales was CNY210.081 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.7%; and its net profit attributable to shareholders was CNY14.714 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.1%.

The number of China Telecom's mobile users reached 181 million by the end of the third quarter of 2013, including 96.48 million 3G users. During the reporting period, it achieved a net increase of 20.52 million users; meanwhile, its fixed-line phone users decreased by 5.07 million. Its fixed-line broadband users reached 98.04 million, representing a net increase of 7.92 million.

The company also revealed that from January to September 2013, China Telecom's mobile device sales were CNY28.105 billion, a year-on-year increase of 52.7%; its operating expense increased by 35.5% year-on-year; its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were CNY74.704 billion, a year-on-year increase of 36.2%; and its EBITDA rate was 35.6%, which was 7 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.