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China Mobile Q4 net profit growth slows to 11%

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-19 14:44

Customers look at mobile phones on display at an China Mobile outlet in Hong Kong, March 19, 2009. [Agencies]

China Mobile missed forecasts with an 11 percent rise in quarterly earnings as subscription and usage growth slowed faster than expected, and warned the industry will suffer this year due to the economic turmoil.

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"The influence of the financial crisis that swept across the globe in 2008 will likely widen and deepen, and its impact on China's economy will continue. The telecommunications industry will be affected," chairman Wang Jianzhou said in a statement.

Earnings growth slowed from the year-on-year profit jump in the third quarter, but the world's largest mobile carrier by subscribers is seen remaining ahead of its rivals in the coming years given its strong cash flow, broad subscriber base, and the support measures in place for its homegrown 3G service TD-SCDMA.

RBS Securities said the carrier's lower cost structure against its rivals and dominance in the third-party distribution channel enables it to build substantial market share across all mobile subscriber segments.

China Mobile earned 30.2 billion yuan ($4.42 billion) in October-December net profit, up from 27.2 billion yuan a year earlier.

But the improvement in earnings slowed from the 26 percent jump posted in the third quarter and lagged the latest consensus forecast rise of 16.5 percent as subscriber growth and usage eased.

Total subscribers increased 23.8 percent for the full year.

The company proposed a final dividend of HK$1.404 per share, bringing total 2008 dividend to HK$2.743 per share. It said it will maintain the 43 percent dividend payout ratio for full-year 2009.

For full-year 2008, net profit was 112.8 billion yuan, up from 87.1 billion yuan in 2007. Revenue rose 15.5 percent.

Shares in China Mobile rose 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, beating a 20 percent slide in Hong Kong's benchmark index. Rival China Unicom fell in line with the Hang Seng Index, while China Telecom dropped 7.7 percent.