China Telecom's Q2 Earnings Flat, Miss Estimates

China Telecom reported Q2 net income of 5.68 billion yuan ($752M), unchanged over the same period last year, and short of analyst expectations of 5.90 billion yuan. China Telecom faced increased competition from mobile carriers, which offer cheaper rates than China Telecom's fixed-line access. Revenues rose 3.8% to 44.30 billion yuan. China Telecom controls 60% of the domestic fixed-line market, but not only do mobile users outnumber fixed-line subscribers (501.7M vs. 372.7M as of June '07), China's largest mobile carriers reportedly signed up ten-times as many users as fixed-line operators in the first-half of 2007. China Telecom's net fixed-line subscriber additions fell 83% in Q2 to 1.5M. However, high-speed internet subscribers increased 27% y/y to 32.2M, for a 54% market share. China Telecom plans to enter the 3G mobile phone market when it is approved in China. Hong Kong listed shares of China Telecom lost 1.3% to HK$4.43 on Tuesday. China Telecom's ADRs gained 4.7% to $59.22 on Monday.

Sources: Bloomberg
Commentary: Interactive Q&A: Steve Zhang, CEO of AsiaInfo Holdings • Chinese Tech Stock Weekly Summary • Google/China Telecom Form Online Ad Alliance
Stocks/ETFs to watch: CHA. Competitors: CN, CHU. ETFs: FXI, PGJ
Related: China Telecom Investor Relations

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