On August 10, China Telecom released its 2021 interim report on business performance. In the first half of 2021, China Telecom achieved operating revenue of RMB 219.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.1%, and service revenue of RMB 203.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.8%. EBITDA for the period was RMB 66.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%. The net profit was RMB 17.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27.2%. After excluding the one-time after-tax income from the sale of subsidiaries, it increased by 17.0% year-on-year. The basic net profit per share was RMB 0.219. Capital expenditure was RMB 27 billion, and free cash flow reached RMB 26.8 billion.
In terms of specific business, the scale and value of mobile subscribers have risen simultaneously. China Telecom's mobile communication service revenue reached RMB 93.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%. Mobile subscribers reached 362 million, a net increase of 11.47 million, and 5G package subscribers reached 131 million, with a penetration rate of 36.2%, continuing to outperform the industry average. There has been rapid growth in subscribers of 5G specialty applications. The business of subscribers upgrading to 5G has maintained stable value growth. The ARPU of mobile subscribers has stopped falling and continued to rise, reaching RMB 45.7, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%, a further increase from the first quarter.