TAIPEI: Chunghwa Telecom Co posted 2 percent annual decline in net profit for last month, primarily due to increase in depreciation costs for 4G equipment and 4G license fees.
Net profit fell to NT$33.3 billion (US$1.07 billion), or NT$0.43 per share compared with NT$33.9 billion, or NT$0.44 a share, in May of last year, when the nation’s top telecom operator led its local rivals in offering 4G services.
Operational expenses increased 1.7 percent to NT$14.88 billion from NT$14.62 billion during the same period, the company said in a financial statement.
Revenue rose 1.2 percent to NT$18.85 billion from NT$18.63 billion the previous year.
Chunghwa chairman Rick Tsai last month said that the company would stand by its plan to make its 4G service a profitable in 2017, despite stiff competition, expensive licensing fees and huge investment on deployment.
The company has 2.34 million 4G subscribers as of last month.
In the first five months of the year, Chunghwa Telecom has made NT$17.66 billion in net profit, up 2.6 percent from NT$17.21 billion in the same period of last year, according to the statement. Operation expenses climbed 2.6 percent annually.
Chunghwa said the five-month financial results surpassed its forecast and it expects to post NT$15.63 billion for the period based on its full-year forecast of NT$37.5 billion in net profit.
Taiwan Mobile Co, the nation’s No. 2 telecom, posted an 11 percent decrease in net profit for last month at NT$1.3 billion, or NT$0.47 a share, from NT$1.47 billion, or NT$0.55 a share, the previous year. It did not specify the reason behind the decline.
The firm made NT$6.41 billion in the first five months of the year, accounting for 46 percent of its overall net profit projected for this year, Taiwan Mobile chief financial officer Rosie Yu said in a statement.
However, revenue rose 6 percent to NT$9.57 billion from NT$9 billion in May last year.
Taiwan Mobile made NT$48.75 billion in the first five months of the year, up 6.53 percent from NT$45.76 billion in the same period last year.
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co, Taiwan’s third-largest telecom, posted NT$1.02 billion in net profit, or NT$031 per share, down 15.7 percent from NT$1.21 billion in May last year. Revenue grew 5.89 percent to NT$7.73 billion from NT$7.3 billion a year earlier.
For the first five months of the year, it made NT$5.09 billion in net profit and NT$40.48 billion in revenue.
