China Mobile Eager To Roll Out 4G LTE Service
By DAVID SAITO-CHUNG, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 05:34 PM ET
China Mobile (CHL) looks poised to mark a 12th straight year of profit and revenue growth. While the wireless giant's growth has slowed over the past decade, it still boasts superior profit stability, strong cash flow and a solid dividend.
Such characteristics are vital, especially during a time when investor confidence in Chinese public companies has been shaken.
A number of small- and midcap Chinese stocks trading in the U.S. exchanges have been decimated by accounting fraud concerns. Earlier this year, shares of software firm Longtop Financial Technologies were delisted from the NYSE after it faced accusations of artificially inflating sales and cash on its balance sheet. The firm's chief financial officer resigned in May.
Hong Kong-based China Mobile posted $72.2 billion in 2010 revenue, up 9% vs. the prior year. Earnings grew 6% to $4.38 a share, and operating cash flow rose 9% to $7.78 a share.
While the company continues to add customers, the wireless handset market appears to be maturing. So China Mobile has focused on boosting its data-related services to increase its average revenue per user. It's currently rolling out a fourth-generation (4G) platform, called TD-LTE, in six cities plus Beijing on a trial basis.
China Mobile announced first-half results for 2011 on Aug. 18. According to a company presentation, wireless data business revenue grew 43%. Value-added business revenue rose to 32% of total sales.
The company now has 35 million customers using its 3G network, which allows for Web search and data transmission in addition to regular cellphone service. Research In Motion (RIMM), maker of the BlackBerry, came out Tuesday with a smartphone model that works on China Mobile's TD-SCDMA network. The Bold 9788 has Wi-Fi connectivity and GPS capability.
As of July 31, China Mobile had 621.85 million customers, adding 5.06 million customers for the month of July. Year to date, it's added a net 37.8 million customers.
China Mobile has a three-year earnings stability ranking of 2 on a scale of 1 (most stable) to 99. The annual dividend yield is 3.6%. The stock has formed a saucer pattern.
