CHINA TELECOM(601728) 天风证券·2025-04-05 13:20Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Accumulate" [5] Core Views - The company achieved a revenue of 529.42 billion yuan in 2024, representing a year-on-year growth of 3.1%, with service revenue reaching 482.03 billion yuan, up 3.7% year-on-year. The net profit attributable to shareholders was 33.01 billion yuan, an increase of 8.4% year-on-year [1] - The company is focusing on enhancing its digital infrastructure and AI capabilities, with a capital expenditure of 93.52 billion yuan in 2024, and plans to increase computing power investment by 22% [3] - The company is committed to shareholder returns, distributing 72% of its profits in cash dividends for 2024, with a planned increase to over 75% in the next three years [5] Summary by Sections Financial Performance - In 2024, the company reported an EBITDA of 140.85 billion yuan, a growth of 2.9% year-on-year, and a return on equity (ROE) of 7.3%, up 0.4 percentage points [1] - Free cash flow reached 22.18 billion yuan, marking a significant increase of 70.7% [1] Business Segments - Mobile communication service revenue was 202.5 billion yuan, growing by 3.5%, with mobile value-added and application revenue increasing by 16.1%. The mobile user base reached 425 million, with an average revenue per user (ARPU) of 45.6 yuan [2] - Fixed-line and smart home service revenue was 125.7 billion yuan, up 2.1%, with smart home revenue growing by 16.8%. Broadband users reached 197 million, with a broadband ARPU of 47.6 yuan [2] - Digital industry revenue was 146.6 billion yuan, a growth of 5.5%, accounting for 30.4% of service revenue, an increase of 0.5 percentage points [2] Strategic Initiatives - The company is advancing its digital infrastructure, with significant investments in AI and cloud services, including the establishment of high-capacity data centers and a new intelligent computing network [3][4] - The Tianyi Cloud platform is evolving into a smart cloud service, integrating various AI capabilities and achieving significant partnerships to enhance its service offerings [4] Shareholder Returns - The company distributed a cash dividend of 0.2598 yuan per share in 2024, with a year-on-year increase of 11.4% in total dividend payout [5] - The commitment to increase cash distribution to shareholders to over 75% of profits in the next three years reflects a strong focus on shareholder value [5]