CHINA TELECOM(00728)2024-04-24 08:31Dividend Policy and Distribution - The company's 2023 annual dividend is RMB 0.2332 per share (including tax), totaling approximately RMB 21.339 billion, exceeding 70% of the net profit attributable to shareholders for the year[5] - The company plans to increase cash dividends to over 75% of the net profit attributable to shareholders from 2024 onwards for the next three years[5] - The company's total share capital at the end of 2023 is 91,507,138,699 shares, with a proposed final dividend of RMB 0.090 per share (including tax), totaling approximately RMB 8.236 billion[5] - The company's mid-year dividend for 2023 was RMB 0.1432 per share (including tax)[5] - Total dividends for 2023 were RMB 0.2332 per share, a 19.0% increase year-on-year, exceeding 70% of the company's net profit[17] - The dividend payout ratio for 2023 is 70.1% of the net profit attributable to shareholders[193] - The company's total cash dividend for 2023, including interim and final dividends, amounts to RMB 21.34 billion[193] - The final dividend for 2023 is expected to be paid on or before July 26, 2024, after approval at the 2023 annual general meeting[100] Financial Performance - Total operating revenue reached RMB 513.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.7%, with service revenue at RMB 465 billion, up 6.9%[17] - Net profit increased by 10.3% to RMB 30.4 billion, with basic earnings per share at RMB 0.33[17] - Capital expenditure was RMB 98.8 billion, and free cash flow reached RMB 13 billion[17] - The company's operating income for 2023 was RMB 5,135.51 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%[62] - The company's net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 304.46 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%[62] - The company's EBITDA was RMB 1,368.30 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.0%, with an EBITDA margin of 29.4%[62] - Operating revenue in 2023 reached RMB 513.551 billion, a 6.7% increase compared to 2022[64][66] - Service revenue in 2023 was RMB 464.965 billion, up 6.9% year-over-year, with mobile communication service revenue at RMB 195.66 billion, a 2.4% increase[64][66][67] - Industrial digitalization service revenue grew significantly by 17.9% to RMB 138.89 billion in 2023[66][67] - Fixed-line and smart home service revenue increased by 3.8% to RMB 123.063 billion in 2023[66][68] - Other service revenue declined by 3.4% to RMB 7.352 billion in 2023[66][69] - Operating expenses in 2023 totaled RMB 476.423 billion, a 6.3% increase compared to 2022, accounting for 92.8% of operating revenue[70][71] - Depreciation and amortization expenses rose by 2.9% to RMB 99.702 billion in 2023[71][72] - Network operation and support costs increased by 8.7% to RMB 160.411 billion in 2023[71][73] - Labor costs grew by 9.5% to RMB 92.805 billion in 2023, reflecting increased investment in tech and innovative talent[71][74] - Net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 10.3% to RMB 30.446 billion in 2023[78] - Capital expenditure for 2023 was RMB 98.838 billion, an increase of 6.8% compared to 2022, driven by investments in 5G network construction, cloud-network integration, and AI computing capabilities[79] - Net cash generated from operating activities in 2023 was RMB 137.508 billion, a year-on-year increase of 0.8%[80][81] - Total assets increased by 3.5% to RMB 835.814 billion at the end of 2023, while total liabilities increased by 4.7% to RMB 388.647 billion, resulting in a debt-to-asset ratio of 46.5%[82] - Total debt decreased by RMB 1.342 billion to RMB 91.42 billion at the end of 2023, with 97.3% of the debt denominated in RMB[84] - The company's actual tax rate in 2023 was 22.4%, lower than the statutory rate of 25.0%, due to tax incentives such as tax-exempt investment income from China Tower and R&D expense deductions[79] - Cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2023 were RMB 81.046 billion, with RMB cash and equivalents accounting for 93.6%[81] - The company's operating capital shortage decreased by RMB 5.092 billion to RMB 135.573 billion at the end of 2023, with unused credit lines of RMB 205.452 billion[83] Business Operations and Market Development - The company's main business includes fixed, mobile, and satellite communication services, as well as internet access and information services[2] - The company's A-shares and H-shares are listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, respectively[2] - The company achieved breakthroughs in technological innovation and completed the layout of strategic emerging businesses, with digital information infrastructure continuously upgraded and new quality productivity rapidly forming[16] - The company actively served and integrated into the new development pattern, seizing market development opportunities in the process of promoting Chinese-style modernization[16] - The company implemented the cloud reform and digital transformation strategy comprehensively, leveraging the advantages of cloud-network integration[16] - The company focused on building a service-oriented, technology-oriented, and security-oriented enterprise, with continuous improvements in governance capabilities and levels[16] - The company's market development momentum grew rapidly, and enterprise reforms were pushed forward in depth[16] - Mobile communication service revenue grew by 2.4% to RMB 195.7 billion, with mobile user ARPU at RMB 45.4, up 0.4%[21] - Fixed-line and smart home service revenue increased by 3.8% to RMB 123.1 billion, with smart home business revenue up 12.8% to RMB 19 billion[21] - Mobile user base grew by 16.59 million, reaching 408 million, maintaining industry leadership for six consecutive years[21] - Broadband user base increased by 9.26 million, reaching 190 million, with broadband ARPU at RMB 47.6, up 2.8%[21] - The company's industrial digital business revenue reached RMB 138.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.9%, accounting for 29.9% of service revenue, an increase of 2.8 percentage points compared to the previous year[23] - The number of enterprise customers increased by 11.3% year-on-year, and the number of new 5G industry application projects increased by 106.3%, with a cumulative total of over 31,000 projects[23] - The number of IoT terminal users exceeded 520 million, and the user scale of applications such as Smart Kitchen and Tianyi Emergency exceeded 77 million[23] - Tianyi Cloud revenue reached RMB 97.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 67.9%, and international business revenue exceeded RMB 13.7 billion[23] - The company's cloud computer user development volume increased by more than 2 times year-on-year, maintaining a nearly 40% share in the Chinese DaaS market[25] - The company's big data API was called 4.6 billion times annually, a year-on-year increase of 45%, and it has formed over 50 "Star Ocean Big Data" products[26] - The company has launched 12 industry-specific large models and has empowered over 600 projects in scenarios such as grassroots governance and smart cities[26] - The company's cloud-based anti-DDoS service (Cloud Dike) maintains the top market share in China and is listed in Gartner's global top service provider selection list[26] - The company has completed the acquisition of QuantumCTek Co., Ltd., enhancing technological and application innovation breakthroughs in the quantum field[28] - The company has launched the world's first commercial service supporting consumer-grade 5G terminal direct satellite two-way voice and SMS, providing emergency and guaranteed communication for industries such as maritime, industrial, and rescue[29] - The company has developed over 110 digital platforms, empowering digital transformation in government, enterprise, education, healthcare, and finance sectors. These platforms have been deployed in more than 20 provinces and 220 cities, providing comprehensive applications such as one-stop government services and urban management[30] - The company's intelligent computing capacity increased by 8.1 EFLOPS in 2023, reaching a total of 11.0 EFLOPS, a growth of 279.3%. Additionally, the general computing capacity increased by 1.0 EFLOPS, reaching 4.1 EFLOPS, a growth of 32.3%[31] - The company and China Unicom have saved over RMB 340 billion in cumulative investment and over RMB 39 billion in annual operating costs through network co-construction and sharing. They have built over 220,000 new 5G base stations, with a total of over 1.21 million 5G base stations in operation[32] - The company has built 250,000 800MHz base stations capable of 4G/5G integrated services by January 2024, significantly improving network coverage and user experience in rural areas[33] - The company's online development ratio for basic business users increased by 11.5 percentage points year-on-year, and the proportion of AI customer service increased by 12.6 percentage points. AI-powered energy-saving measures in data centers and base stations saved approximately 800 million kWh annually[33] - The company has expanded its global cloud network broadband industry association (WBBA) to 77 member units, covering 32 countries across five continents, and released the WBBA Global Cloud Network Broadband Industry Development Report and the Global Cloud Network Development Index[34] - The company has established 53 overseas branches, serving global demand for communication, internet, cloud computing, and digital transformation[35] - The international transmission network backbone scale is nearly 115Tbps, with over 50% directed towards the "Belt and Road" regions[35] - The company has over 6,000 racks in nearly 30 overseas data centers[35] - The company added 15 new global CDN nodes for its Tianyi Cloud service in 2023[35] - The company reduced greenhouse gas emissions by over 13 million tons through energy-saving measures, with a 19.6% year-on-year decrease in greenhouse gas emissions per unit of telecom business volume[37] - The company used over 1.1 billion kWh of green electricity in 2023, a nearly threefold increase year-on-year[37] - The company signed over 3,000 projects for green and low-carbon products and solutions, serving industries such as government, industrial manufacturing, and construction[37] - The company's digital services have achieved a penetration rate of over 60% in administrative villages, contributing to rural digitalization[38] - The company was recognized as "Asia's Most Admired Company" for the 13th consecutive year in the 2023 Institutional Investor survey[39] - The company aims to deepen its cloud-network transformation, focusing on AI development and meeting digital demands across industries with "network + cloud + AI + applications"[40] - Telecom business revenue reached RMB 1.68 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%[41] - 5G mobile phone users reached 805 million, accounting for nearly half of total mobile phone users[41] - Fixed broadband access users reached 636 million, with 163 million users having access speeds of 1000Mbps or higher[41] - Mobile internet user access traffic reached 301.5 billion GB, a year-on-year increase of 15.2%[42] - Monthly average data usage per user (DOU) reached 16.85GB, a year-on-year increase of 10.9%[42] - 5G application cases exceeded 94,000, covering 71 out of 97 major national economic categories[42] - Cellular IoT terminal users reached 2.332 billion, accounting for nearly 60% of total mobile network terminal connections[41] - The company is accelerating the deployment of AI infrastructure and transitioning to an "AI+" strategy[41] - The company is actively promoting the integration of cloud, network, and intelligence, and building a full optical base for computing power networks[41] - The company is focusing on compliance with new laws and regulations, including the revised Company Law and the Generative AI Service Management Interim Measures[43][44] - Mobile user base reached 408 million, with a net increase of 16.59 million, maintaining industry leadership for six consecutive years[46] - Mobile user ARPU increased to RMB 45.4, up 0.4% year-over-year[46] - Broadband user base reached 190 million, with a net increase of 9.26 million[46] - Broadband comprehensive ARPU increased to RMB 47.6, up 2.8% year-over-year[46] - Industrial digitalization revenue reached RMB 138.9 billion, up 17.9% year-over-year, accounting for 29.9% of service revenue[46] - Tianyi Cloud revenue reached RMB 97.2 billion, up 67.9% year-over-year[46] - Number of 5G base stations exceeded 1.21 million, achieving continuous coverage in towns and above and effective coverage in developed villages[48] - Greenhouse gas emissions reduced by over 13 million tons through co-construction and sharing and energy-saving measures[49] - Green electricity usage exceeded 1.1 billion kWh, up nearly 3 times year-over-year[49] - AIoT platform users exceeded 520 million, with a year-over-year growth of 45% in API calls[51] - The company's operating revenue in 2023 reached RMB 513.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.7%, with service revenue at RMB 465 billion, up 6.9% year-on-year[56] - Mobile communication service revenue in 2023 was RMB 195.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.4%, with mobile value-added and application revenue at RMB 25.8 billion, up 12.4% year-on-year[56] - The company's mobile user base increased by 16.59 million, reaching 408 million users, with mobile user ARPU at RMB 45.4, a year-on-year increase of 0.4%[57] - Fixed-line and smart home service revenue in 2023 was RMB 123.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%, with smart home business revenue at RMB 19 billion, up 12.8% year-on-year[57] - Broadband user base increased by 9.26 million, reaching 190 million users, with broadband comprehensive ARPU at RMB 47.6, a year-on-year increase of 2.8%[57] - The company's quantum computing cloud platform "Tianyan" achieved ultra-quantum fusion, and it was the first globally to enable consumer mobile phones to directly connect to satellites for two-way voice calls and SMS services[53] - The company's data security posture awareness system improved accuracy to 98%, and it built a full-scale user anti-fraud risk model, achieving daily risk assessment for 470 million users[55] - The company's distributed cloud operating system TeleCloudOS 4.0 won the first prize of the 2023 China Communications Society Science and Technology Award[53] - The company's cloud computing and intelligent computing capabilities continued to upgrade, with the self-developed cloud operating system TeleCloudOS 4.0 forming a technological leadership[57] - The company's industry-leading quantum secure communication metropolitan area network was established, and it introduced communication/bank blacklist data, enabling minute-level shutdown of newly inserted cards on involved terminals[55] - Tianti Cloud revenue reached RMB 97.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 67.9%[58] - Tianti Cloud maintained its leading position in the domestic public cloud IaaS and IaaS+PaaS markets, with its market share continuing to rise[58] - The number of new 5G industry application projects increased by 106.3% year-on-year, with a cumulative total of over 31,000 projects[60] - The company's digital business revenue reached RMB 1,389 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.9%, accounting for 29.9% of service revenue[60] - The company's operating income for 2023 was RMB 5,135.51 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%[62] - The company's net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 304.46 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%[62] - The company's EBITDA was RMB 1,368.30 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.0%, with an EBITDA margin of 29.4%[62] - The company's cloud computer user base grew by more than 2 times year-on-year, maintaining a nearly 40% share in the Chinese DaaS market[58] - The company launched the "Xingchen MaaS Platform," which has empowered over 600 projects in various industries[58] - The company's AI intelligent customer service accounted for a 12.6% year-on-year increase in service volume[63] - Operating revenue in 2023 reached RMB 513.551 billion, a 6.7% increase compared to 2022[64][66] - Service revenue in 2023 was RMB 464.965 billion, up 6.9% year-over-year, with mobile communication service revenue at RMB 195.66 billion, a 2.4% increase[64][66][67] - Industrial digitalization service revenue grew significantly by 17.9% to RMB 138.89 billion in 2023[66][67] - Fixed-line and smart home service revenue increased by 3.8% to RMB 123.063 billion in 2023[66][68] - Other service revenue declined by 3.4% to RMB 7.352 billion in 2023[66][69] - Operating expenses in 2023 totaled RMB 476.423 billion, a 6.3% increase compared to 2022, accounting for 92.8% of operating revenue[70][71] - Depreciation and amortization expenses rose by