China Mobile H1 Net Profit Falls 8.5%

China Mobile

reported an 8.5% drop in its net profit for the first half. The Central, Hong Kong-based company's net profit for the period declined to 57.74 billion yuan ($9.37 billion), versus a year-ago profit of 63.13 billion yuan. Its revenue climbed 7.1% to 324.68 billion yuan ($54.1 billion), compared to 303.10 billion yuan. Revenue from telecommunications services rose 4.7% to RMB297.9 billion, while revenue from data business jumped 27.8% to RMB121.9 billion. Revenue from wireless data traffic climbed 51.8% to RMB72.0 billion. Its EBITDA fell 4.4% to RMB118.3 billion. China Mobile's total subscribers climbed 6.8% y/y to 790 million, including 14 million 4G users. The company's board declared an interim dividend of HK$1.540 per share. China Mobile shares gained 2.17% to close at $56.55 yesterday.