China Mobile sees Q1 profit jump 28 percent

China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd., the listed arm of China's largest mobile operator, Friday reported a sharply higher first-quarter profit, citing continued rapid growth in the number of mobile subscribers.

China Mobile earned revenue of 65 billion renminbi (US$8.1 billion as of March 31, the last day of the period being reported) during the first three months of the year, up 18.5% from the same period last year. The company's profit grew even faster, rising 27.6% to 14.4 billion renminbi.

China Mobile attributed this increase in revenue to growing demand for telecommunications services in China, noting that it added 12.6 million subscribers during the first quarter. That gain brought the company's total number of subscribers to 260.6 million at the end of March.

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China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd., the listed arm of China's largest mobile operator, Friday reported a sharply higher first-quarter profit, citing continued rapid growth in the number of mobile subscribers.

China Mobile earned revenue of 65 billion renminbi (US$8.1 billion as of March 31, the last day of the period being reported) during the first three months of the year, up 18.5% from the same period last year. The company's profit grew even faster, rising 27.6% to 14.4 billion renminbi.

China Mobile attributed this increase in revenue to growing demand for telecommunications services in China, noting that it added 12.6 million subscribers during the first quarter. That gain brought the company's total number of subscribers to 260.6 million at the end of March.

The number of mobile data users rose from 206.7 million at the end of 2005 to 227.2 million at the end of the first quarter, it said.

Most of China Mobile's new subscribers are low-end users and this contributed to a general decline in average revenue per user, from 92 renminbi per month during the fourth quarter to 86 renminbi per month during the most recent period, the company said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.