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China Unicom actively served national strategies, focusing on the main responsibilities of Cyber Superpower and Digital China. The Company bravely assumed its roles as a leading contributor of digital information operations and services and a pioneer of digital technology integration and innovation. It fully implemented new development concepts, promoting the coordinated development of two main businesses, namely Connectivity and Communications ("CC") and Computing and Digital Smart Applications ("CDSA"). So far this year, the Company's operating revenue has seen steady growth, profitability has improved rapidly, subscriber scale has steadily expanded, and network infrastructure has been continuously strengthened, laying a more solid foundation for its high-quality development.
In the first three quarters of 2024, the Company's operating revenue amounted to RMB 290.12 billion, up by 3.0% year-on-year. EBITDA reached RMB 80.40 billion, up by 2.0% year-on-year. Profit before income tax reached RMB 23.55 billion. The profit attributable to the equity shareholders of the Company reached RMB 19.03 billion, up by 10.3% year-on-year, maintaining double-digit growth.
In the first three quarters of 2024, the Company's operating revenue amounted to RMB 290.12 billion, up by 3.0% year-on-year. EBITDA reached RMB 80.40 billion, up by 2.0% year-on-year. Profit before income tax reached RMB 23.55 billion. The profit attributable to the equity shareholders of the Company reached RMB 19.03 billion, up by 10.3% year-on-year, maintaining double-digit growth.
CC business grew steadily and improved in quality. The number of mobile subscribers reached 345 million, with a net increase of 11.23 million so far this year, hitting a six-year high during the same period. Among them, the number of 5G package subscribers reached 286 million, and the 5G package penetration rate reached 83%, as the subscriber structure continued to optimise. The number of Internet of Things ("IoT") connections reached 594 million, with a net increase of nearly 100 million. The number of fixed-line broadband subscribers reached 121 million, with a net increase of 7.12 million so far this year, maintaining a good growth momentum.
CDSA business expanded growth and enhanced efficiency. Computing power services grew rapidly, with Unicom Cloud revenue reaching RMB 43.86 billion, up by 19.5% year-on-year. By promoting the accelerated development of AIDC through the intelligent transformation of data centres, data centre revenue reached RMB 19.69 billion, up by 6.8% year-on-year. The Company actively supported the new industrialisation, boosting China Unicom's 5G+ industrial Internet brand influence, with the total number of customers served by virtual 5G industry private networks reaching 14,013. The Company actively constructed a "Big Security" system spanning from security operations to security services and ecological prosperity, with cybersecurity revenue maintaining strong growth momentum.
In recent years, the substantial increase in the number of Chinese enterprises going abroad and outbound tourists has brought valuable opportunities for the Company to enhance its internationalised market operation. Revenue from international business in the first half of the year amounted to RMB6.0 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.4%, which was mainly attributable to the higher growth rate of revenue from outbound international roaming and international mobile business, as well as the rapid growth of revenue from major products, such as global smart network, high-bandwidth leased lines, Unicom Cloud and IoT. In particular, The Company achieved a breakthrough in international IoT connectivity capability, with revenue increasing by 93.4% year-on-year.
The Company deeply implemented the strategy of strengthening the enterprise through technology, vigorously developing strategic emerging industries and future industries. Focusing on the three aspects of network, data, and intelligence, it stepped up R&D investment intensity. In the first half of the year, R&D investment increased by 13% year-on-year. The Company strengthened original and leading scientific and technological research, and formed a number of landmark achievements, such as Computing Power AI Network, Trusted Data Resource Space Platform, and UniAI, etc.
In terms of network technology innovation, the Company focused on the next-generation Internet, and conducted research on lossless network technologies. It achieved the industry’s first 3,000-kilometer wide-area lossless transmission, with terabytes of data transmitted within minutes, meeting the needs of high-speed data transmission. It launched the Computing Power AI Network (AINet) to achieve intelligent dispatch of computing power across the whole network, supporting the effective collaboration of training and inference and ensuring the security and reliability of the whole network. Focusing on new-generation wireless communication networks, it optimised network architectures, technical systems and operation modes, made breakthroughs in 5G-A key technologies, explored the development of 6G standards, and promoted innovative applications such as satellite Internet and low-altitude intelligent networks.
In terms of data technology innovation, the Company actively implemented the “Data Factors X” action plan, deeply cultivated original big data technologies, continuously improved data governance capabilities, and continuously strengthened data security operations. It published shared artificial intelligence datasets and built a mechanism for sharing data. The “Trusted Data Resource Space” platform was launched to provide reliable infrastructure for the circulation and utilisation of data factors.
In terms of intelligent technology innovation, the Company actively implemented “AI+” action plan, and accelerated the formation of technology-leading proprietary and controllable capabilities to promote the integration and development of artificial intelligence with various industries. To enhance its model capabilities, the Company iteratively upgraded the UniAI large model system, pushing the number of parameters from hundreds of billion to trillion. It accelerated model application and formed over 35 industry-specific large models, making initial progress in empowering areas such as urban governance, economic operations, information consumption, and industrial manufacturing.
In terms of network technology innovation, the Company focused on the next-generation Internet, and conducted research on lossless network technologies. It achieved the industry’s first 3,000-kilometer wide-area lossless transmission, with terabytes of data transmitted within minutes, meeting the needs of high-speed data transmission. It launched the Computing Power AI Network (AINet) to achieve intelligent dispatch of computing power across the whole network, supporting the effective collaboration of training and inference and ensuring the security and reliability of the whole network. Focusing on new-generation wireless communication networks, it optimised network architectures, technical systems and operation modes, made breakthroughs in 5G-A key technologies, explored the development of 6G standards, and promoted innovative applications such as satellite Internet and low-altitude intelligent networks.
In terms of data technology innovation, the Company actively implemented the “Data Factors X” action plan, deeply cultivated original big data technologies, continuously improved data governance capabilities, and continuously strengthened data security operations. It published shared artificial intelligence datasets and built a mechanism for sharing data. The “Trusted Data Resource Space” platform was launched to provide reliable infrastructure for the circulation and utilisation of data factors.
In terms of intelligent technology innovation, the Company actively implemented “AI+” action plan, and accelerated the formation of technology-leading proprietary and controllable capabilities to promote the integration and development of artificial intelligence with various industries. To enhance its model capabilities, the Company iteratively upgraded the UniAI large model system, pushing the number of parameters from hundreds of billion to trillion. It accelerated model application and formed over 35 industry-specific large models, making initial progress in empowering areas such as urban governance, economic operations, information consumption, and industrial manufacturing.
The Company continuously strengthened new infrastructure construction, focusing on three specific networks: “Internet network, computing network, and data network”.
In terms of Internet network, the Company firstly continuously improved the coverage of its mobile Internet network. In the first half of the year, the number of 5G mid-band base stations exceeded 1.31 million and that of low-band base stations reached 780,000. The number of 4G mid-band base stations exceeded 2 million. Network core competitiveness was further strengthened. Key 5G-A technologies such as RedCap and carrier aggregation were commercially deployed in over 100 cities. Secondly, the Company accelerated the construction of high-speed broadband Internet network. It promoted the penetration and quality improvement of gigabit networks, with the proportion of 10GPON ports reaching 79%, leading the industry. The Company conducted 50GPON technical pilot projects to promote the construction of 10-gigabit cities.
In terms of computing network, the Company improved the integrated deployment across cloud, network and edge. It built intelligent computing centres with over 10,000 AI accelerators in Shanghai and Hohhot, etc, achieving total intelligent computing power of 10 EFLOPS. It deployed over 20 large computing centre parks, fully covering the hubs and nodes in “Eastern Data and Western Computing”. It accelerated the construction of the “New Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal” national backbone network and deployed ultra-high-speed interconnection channels between computing centres, creating a high-throughput, high-performance and highly intelligent computing power AI network.
In terms of data network, the Company leveraged its ubiquitous connectivity edge and took advantage of its carrier network capability with flexible bandwidth from 10M to 400G, to create a data service network with highly elastic bandwidth, ultra-low latency, flexible networking, and classified transmission for the circulation and application of data. Unicom Blockchain transactions per second (TPS) exceeded 100,000, ranking among the top in the industry.
In terms of Internet network, the Company firstly continuously improved the coverage of its mobile Internet network. In the first half of the year, the number of 5G mid-band base stations exceeded 1.31 million and that of low-band base stations reached 780,000. The number of 4G mid-band base stations exceeded 2 million. Network core competitiveness was further strengthened. Key 5G-A technologies such as RedCap and carrier aggregation were commercially deployed in over 100 cities. Secondly, the Company accelerated the construction of high-speed broadband Internet network. It promoted the penetration and quality improvement of gigabit networks, with the proportion of 10GPON ports reaching 79%, leading the industry. The Company conducted 50GPON technical pilot projects to promote the construction of 10-gigabit cities.
In terms of computing network, the Company improved the integrated deployment across cloud, network and edge. It built intelligent computing centres with over 10,000 AI accelerators in Shanghai and Hohhot, etc, achieving total intelligent computing power of 10 EFLOPS. It deployed over 20 large computing centre parks, fully covering the hubs and nodes in “Eastern Data and Western Computing”. It accelerated the construction of the “New Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal” national backbone network and deployed ultra-high-speed interconnection channels between computing centres, creating a high-throughput, high-performance and highly intelligent computing power AI network.
In terms of data network, the Company leveraged its ubiquitous connectivity edge and took advantage of its carrier network capability with flexible bandwidth from 10M to 400G, to create a data service network with highly elastic bandwidth, ultra-low latency, flexible networking, and classified transmission for the circulation and application of data. Unicom Blockchain transactions per second (TPS) exceeded 100,000, ranking among the top in the industry.
The Company focused on strengthening network-business synergy and undertook precise investment, resulting in effective control of capital expenditure. In the first half of the year, capital expenditure amounted to RMB23.9 billion, down by 13.4% year-on-year.
In 2024, with 5G network coverage nearing completion, the Company’s investment focus is shifting from stable CC business to high-growth CDSA business. CAPEX is expected to be within RMB65.0 billion, in which CDSA investment will be appropriately brought forward and its deployment will be strengthened.
In 2024, with 5G network coverage nearing completion, the Company’s investment focus is shifting from stable CC business to high-growth CDSA business. CAPEX is expected to be within RMB65.0 billion, in which CDSA investment will be appropriately brought forward and its deployment will be strengthened.
The Company attaches great importance to shareholder returns. The Board resolved to distribute the 2024 interim dividend of RMB0.2481 per share (pre-tax), representing an increase of 22.2% year-on-year, significantly higher than the growth of basic earnings per share, continuously enhancing shareholder returns.
The objective of the dividend policy of the Company is to achieve a long-term, sustainable and steadily increasing dividend, with a view to maximising the shareholders’ value. The declaration and payment of future dividends will depend upon, among other things, financial condition, business prospects, future earnings, cash flow, liquidity level and cost of capital. The Company believes such policy will provide the shareholders with a stable return in the long term along with the growth of the Company. Pursuant to the Companies Ordinance (Chapter 622 of the Laws of Hong Kong) and the Company’s articles of association, the Company may only pay dividends out of profits available for distribution.
The objective of the dividend policy of the Company is to achieve a long-term, sustainable and steadily increasing dividend, with a view to maximising the shareholders’ value. The declaration and payment of future dividends will depend upon, among other things, financial condition, business prospects, future earnings, cash flow, liquidity level and cost of capital. The Company believes such policy will provide the shareholders with a stable return in the long term along with the growth of the Company. Pursuant to the Companies Ordinance (Chapter 622 of the Laws of Hong Kong) and the Company’s articles of association, the Company may only pay dividends out of profits available for distribution.
China Unicom continues to be guided by the new development concepts of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, and takes practical actions to implement the construction of a Cyber Superpower and Digital China. China Unicom has built a sustainable development system to contribute its strength to enhancing the comprehensive value creation capability for the economy, society, and environment. The Company insisted on transparent and efficient communication with the market, deeply engaging with over 1,000 investors via multiple events in the first half of the year, and conducted multiple overseas roadshows, thereby actively conveying the Company’s new image and new values to the domestic and international markets. It adhered to green development and deepened co-build co-share. In the first half of the year, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by approximately 6.78 million tonnes. Network energy efficiency continued to improve, with the comprehensive energy consumption per unit of telecommunications business volume decreasing by 6%. It promoted the deep integration of digital technology and ecological environment to help build a beautiful China. It continuously supported rural revitalisation. The “Digital Village” service platform covered more than 250,000 administrative villages. It fulfilled social responsibilities in major events such as flood control and rescue, demonstrating its responsibility as a central SOE. China Unicom continuously improved corporate governance, and deepened integrated development with strategic investors.
Last updated: 24 October 2024