China Unicom Books First-Half Profit Gain on Cost-Cutting as Revenue Dips
Lai Shasha
DATE:  Aug 15 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
China Unicom Books First-Half Profit Gain on Cost-Cutting as Revenue Dips China Unicom Books First-Half Profit Gain on Cost-Cutting as Revenue Dips

(Yicai Global) Aug. 15 -- State-backed China Unicom increased its net profit in the first half of this year by lowering operating costs while planning on partnering with China's other two major telecoms operators to build fifth-generation wireless network infrastructure. 

China Unicom boosted its net profit by 16.8 percent to CNY3 billion (USD427.5 million), the Beijing-based firm said in its earnings report. The company's operating costs declined by 4.6 percent to CNY104.1 billion (USD14.8 billion).

The firm's revenue fell 2.8 percent to CNY145 billion as operating income from its main business dropped 1.1 percent to CNY133 billion amid intensifying competition.

China Unicom expects to invest around CNY8 billion to build 40,000 5G base stations this year, focusing on big cities, Chairman Wang Xiaochu said in the earnings meeting. 

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued 5G commercial licenses to four companies -- China Unicom, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Business Network -- on June 6, seeking to enter an era of the Internet of Vehicles and self-driving technology.

China Unicom is considering 5G collaboration with three parties, said Wang, without disclosing the name of the third one. A tie-up with China Telecom would be preferable because the two parties' 5G frequencies are very close and team effort could improve bandwidth speed and network quality while reducing maintenance costs, according to Wang. 

China Unicom is also in talks with China Mobile regarding 5G data roaming, Wang added. Joining efforts could be beneficial for China Mobile as on Aug. 8, the telecoms giant posted a 14.6 percent drop in its net profit to CNY56.1 billion in the first half. The firm plans to invest CNY24 billion to construct more than 50,000 base stations to launch commercial 5G services in more than 50 cities this year.

Editor: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine 

Follow Yicai Global on
Keywords:   China Unicom,5G,China Telecom