China Mobile Reaches 457 Million Mobile Users, up 23.8% for 2008

China Mobile's annual turnover reached RMB 41.3 billion in 2008, up by 15.5% for 2008. Total subscribers exceeded 457 million, up by 23.8%. The net increase in new subscribers per month was over 7.3 million. As of 31 December 2008, the Group's total voice usage volume was 2,441.31 billion minutes and the average minutes of usage per user per month (MOU) was 492 minutes. Average revenue per user per month (ARPU) was RMB 83.


Due partly to the positive impact of change in PRC enterprise income tax rate, profit attributable to shareholders reached RMB 112,793 million -- rose 29.6 percent. year-on-year. Margin of profit attributable to shareholders reached a relatively high level of 27.4 percent.. EBITDA reached RMB 216,487 million, up 11.6 percent., with a margin of 52.5 percent.. Basic earnings per share reached RMB 5.63, up 29.4 percent. year-on-year.


In 2009, having taken into consideration various relevant factors such as the Company's overall financial condition, cash flow generating capability and sustainable future development, China Mobile anticipates a dividend payout ratio for the full year of 2009 to be 43 percent..


Looking into the future, China Mobile believes the impact of the global financial crisis will continue to be felt but that the Chinese government policies will have positive impact on the demand for telecommunications and information services, while the active promotion of homegrown innovation will help its development. China Mobile also face new challenges. The increasing penetration rate of mobile telecommunications, the restructuring of the telecommunications industry and the issuing of 3G licenses will change the industry structure and competitive landscape. The company vowed to adopt an innovative approach towards integrating its networks and fully utilizing 2G network resources while ensuring a smooth upgrade for subscribers to 3G.


In addition, China Mobile will leverage its influence and market leading position to proactively push the development and maturity of the TD-SCDMA industry while researching LTE.
http://www.chinamobileltd.com