China Mobile’s Performance Improves With 5G Ramp-Up

What’s new: China Mobile Ltd., the country’s dominant mobile carrier, reported its revenue growth accelerated in the third quarter, while its profit was flat.

The company’s revenue rose 4.1% to 184.5 billion yuan ($27.6 billion) for the three months to September, based on calculations by Caixin using newly released company data, up from just 0.1% growth in the first six months of the year.

China Mobile’s profit was 25.7 billion yuan in the third quarter, unchanged from a year earlier. That marked an improvement from a 0.5% profit decline in the first half of the year.

What’s the background: Shares of China Mobile were up 2% in the morning trading session in Hong Kong the day after the results came out. Bank of China International Ltd. said the results were largely line with market expectation.

China Mobile and its two smaller peers are beginning to gain traction as they build out and sign up new subscribers for their new 5G service, which offers significantly higher data speeds than the older 4G. With nearly all Chinese now subscribing to mobile service, the trio have become locked in fierce competition as they search for new sources of growth.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use.

Related: China’s Mobile Tower Giant Reports Modest Revenue Growth

Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)

Support quality journalism in China. Subscribe to Caixin Global starting at $0.99.