China Tower's profit rises 10pc to 10.7b yuan

Cici Cao

China Tower (0788) saw its 2024 net profit rise around 10 percent to 10.73 billion yuan (HK$11.52 billion) from a year prior, driven by higher revenue from its smart tower and energy businesses.

Chairman Zhang Zhiyong said the company can contribute more to the low-altitude economy by leveraging its extensive network of tower sites across China and offering communication support.

Zhang said China Tower aims to play a key role in 5G applications to promote network construction, operation and optimization.

The state-owned tower operator declared a final dividend of 30.8 fen per share, resulting in a full-year payout of 41.7 fen, up 11.5 percent year-on-year.

Revenue last year rose 4 percent to 97.77 billion yuan from 12 months before.

Its tower business turnover edged up by 0.9 percent to 75.69 billion yuan while its indoor distributed antenna system business posted an 18.1 percent jump to 8.43 billion yuan.

Revenue from its smart tower business grew 22.4 percent to 8.91 billion yuan while that of the energy business rose by 6.2 percent to 4.48 billion yuan.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 4.7 percent to 66.56 billion yuan.

Capital expenditures rose 0.7 percent year-on-year to 31.9 billion yuan.

Zhang said this year's capital expenditures are expected to remain at a similar level to 2024, adding that future investment will focus on customer needs and cutting-edge technologies.

The company managed more than 2.09 million tower sites at the end of December 2024, an increase of 48,000 year-on-year.

Its shares dipped slightly to HK$12.24 in Hong Kong yesterday.