Gelonghui, November 6: China Telecom (CHT.US) announced its third quarter financial report. In the third quarter of 2024, China Telecom achieved operating income of NT$55.61 billion, up 3.6% year on year; net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was NT$9.01 billion, down 1% year on year; and the diluted earnings per share (EPS) was NT$1.16 billion. The company's operating income, net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company, and earnings per share all exceeded expectations.

Business highlights. In terms of mobile services, as of September 30, 2024, the total number of mobile users of Chunghwa Telecom was 13.01 million, an increase of 0.6% over the previous year. In the third quarter, total revenue from mobile services increased by 2% to NT$16.75 billion, while the average mobile post-payment revenue (ARPU) per user (ARPU) excluding IoT SIM cards remained stable, unchanged from the previous year to NT$552. In terms of fixed broadband/HiNet, as of September 30, 2024, the number of broadband users increased slightly by 0.7% to 4.42 million, and HiNet broadband users increased by 1.3% to 3.73 million. In the third quarter, total fixed broadband revenue increased 3.4% year over year to NT$11.32 billion, and ARPU increased 1.5% year over year to NT$786. In terms of fixed telephones, as of September 30, 2024, the number of fixed telephone subscribers was 8.95 million.

Chih-Cheng Chien, Chairman and CEO of Chunghwa Telecom, said, “The company performed steadily this quarter, with outstanding operational performance in various business areas. We have achieved a new high total revenue in the same quarter of the past seven years, further consolidating our leading position in the **** mobile market. Currently, our revenue market share has reached 40.3%, and the user market share has reached 37.8%. Our 5G comprehensive penetration rate continues to rise to 33.5%, maintaining market leadership. Furthermore, by expanding the cross-tier upgrade promotion program and including 1Gbps services, the number of new 1Gbps users doubled this quarter.”

Rong-Shy Lin, president of China Telecom, added: “Judging from the performance of our three major business groups, the consumer business group has maintained a good growth trend, mainly due to 5G migration, an increase in post-paid users, steady growth in fixed broadband revenue, and an increase in OTT revenue brought about by exclusive broadcasts of the Paris Olympics. The video platform has more than 3 million subscribers, leading to double-digit year-on-year growth in video-related revenue. The enterprise business group's ICT business revenue increased 22% year over year. In particular, the 5G private network and big data analysis business performed strongly, which was driven by the 5GO-RAN project and smart government plans. Furthermore, our international business group performed well, with pre-tax revenue up 11% year over year, mainly driven by overseas ICT business. What is even more exciting is that our European subsidiary in Frankfurt was officially launched on July 30 to provide ICT solutions to the European high-tech market.”

Chih-Cheng Chien continued: “In terms of the development of advanced networks and technology, Chunghwa Telecom continues to lead industry innovation. This quarter, we partnered with NTT Group to launch the world's first Taiwan-Japan IOWNAPN. Additionally, as Taiwan's exclusive supplier of OneWeb LEO satellites, we have covered more than 90% of Taiwan's area in the third quarter. In the ESG field, we obtained SBTi's net zero greenhouse gas emission target certification, becoming the first operator in Taiwan to commit to net zero emissions by 2045, ahead of the global target of 2050. Furthermore, our national service centers have all obtained carbon footprint certification, making us the only telecom company in Taiwan to reach this milestone. We will continue to lead the development of ESG best practices.”