China Telecom (0728) said first-quarter net profit rose 7.7 percent to 8.6 billion yuan (HK$9.3 billion), boosted by strong growth in corporate digitalization service.
Earnings per share came in at 0.09 yuan, but no dividend payout was proposed.
The company also promised to gradually increase the cash dividend payout ratio to 75 percent or above in three years through to 2026.
Operating revenue hit 135 billion yuan, up just 3.8 percent yearly, of which services revenue was 124 billion yuan, up 5 percent.
For mobile communications services, total subscribers soared to 412 million, marking a net increase of 3.88 million.
Specifically, the number of 5G subscribers surged to 329 million with a net addition of 10.06 million, pushing the penetration rate to 79.9 percent.
Operating expenses rose 3.6 percent to 125 billion yuan from enhancing the cloud-network service quality and capabilities as well as increasing investment in the build-up of capabilities.
Earning before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was 35 billion, up 3.6 percent, while the Ebitda margin was 28.2 percent.
