CHINA TELECOM(601728) 兴业证券·2024-10-27 13:44Investment Rating - The report maintains an "Add" rating for China Telecom [1][2] Core Views - The company reported a revenue of 391.97 billion yuan for the first three quarters of 2024, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.85%, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 29.30 billion yuan, up 8.11% year-on-year [2] - The traditional business's ARPU remains stable, while the smart home business shows significant growth, driven by the dual engines of traditional and digital business [2] - The company is focused on cost reduction and efficiency improvement, with a target to increase the dividend payout ratio to over 75% within three years, highlighting its long-term value [2] Financial Summary - For Q3 2024, the company achieved a revenue of 125.99 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.92%, and a net profit of 7.49 billion yuan, up 7.76% year-on-year [2] - The mobile user base increased by 14.90 million to 423 million, with 5G users growing by 26.40 million to 345 million, achieving a penetration rate of 81.6% [2] - The fixed broadband user base increased by 6.10 million to 196 million, with a stable ARPU of 47.8 yuan [2] - The company forecasts net profits of 33.02 billion, 35.78 billion, and 38.85 billion yuan for 2024, 2025, and 2026 respectively, with corresponding PE ratios of 18.3, 16.9, and 15.5 based on the closing price on October 23 [2][4]