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Data accounts for majority of full-year telco service revenues for first time
China Mobile on Thursday reported a strong set of results for 2017, as wireless data revenue accounted for more than half of the operator’s full-year service revenue for the first time.
"We have made outstanding achievements on multiple fronts, sustained favourable growth momentum and bolstered our position as a market leader," said China Mobile chairman Shang Bing, in a statement.
China Mobile’s 2017 revenue grew 4.5% on the previous year to 740.5 billion yuan (€94.8 billion), while net profit was also up 4.5% to CNY114.3 billion.
"Revenue growth in telecommunications services achieved a six-year high of 7.2% [to CNY668.4 billion], outpacing the industry average. Revenue from wireless data traffic, on a full-year basis, has accounted for more than half of the total telecommunications services revenue for the first time, demonstrating a fundamental change in revenue structure," China Mobile said.
China Mobile ended the year with 887.2 million mobile customers, up from 848.9 million at the end of 2016. 4G customers surged to 649.5 million from 535.0 million, giving the company a 4G penetration rate of 73%.
China also disclosed that it had 229 million Internet of Things (IoT) connections at the end of 2017, compared to 103 million a year earlier.
Including fixed-line customers, China Mobile now has 1.23 billion connections. It said it aims to grow this figure to 1.4 billion in 2018, with growth coming primarily from the enterprise market, the residential fixed broadband market, and the IoT.
"Globally, economic activity is undergoing an accelerated shift towards being enabled by cyber information technology. Wider socio-economic development is experiencing profound change alongside the ICT industry," Shang said.
He said the period between now and 2020 will be critical in terms of achieving China Mobile’s five-year goal of doubling its number of connections compared to 2015.
"As we stand at this inflection point, we have the responsibility to contemplate the future and set our development objectives and plans, that will lay a solid foundation for the company’s transformation in the new era."
