China Mobile (CHL.NYSE, 0941.HK) said its first-quarter profit increased by 1.1% to US$3.73 billion, much slower than the 5.2% profit growth a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported. Analysts attributed the slowdown in growth to increasing competition from China Unicom (NYSE.CHU, 0762.HK) and China Telecom (CHA.NYSE, 0728.HK), as well as higher marketing and depreciation expenses incurred by its 3G service offering. Revenue per user decreased to RMB70 from RMB73 a year earlier, and new subscribers were mostly low-end users, not 3G subscribers. However, of the six million subscribers it added in March, 3.4 million were 3G subscribers. China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou said that the company plans to improve its competitiveness by increasing investment in sales channels, customer service and R&D, as well as controlling costs.
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