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Communications

China Mobile Ltd.

In the news

Company Background

China Mobile is China's largest telecommunications company. It commands slightly more than 60% of the domestic mobile phone market, where some 1.3 billion people use handsets.

The company also boasts the largest number of subscribers in the world. Backed by its strong brand power and excellent name recognition, China Mobile far eclipses such rivals as China Telecom and China Unicom in scale.

Its parent company is state-owned behemoth China Mobile Communications Corp., which was created in 2000 by spinning off the mobile telecommunications division of the former posts and telecommunications ministry. China Mobile, a core unit of CMCC, is listed on the domestic stock market. Slightly more than 70% of its outstanding shares are owned by the asset-management arm of CMCC.

Because it is a large state-owned company, China Mobile acts in step with government policy. In late 2013, it was the first company in China to introduce the TD-LTE fourth-generation mobile communications format, developed mainly by local companies. China Mobile is leading the efforts to promote the standard at home, spending huge sums to set up new base stations and introduce handsets compatible with the 4G service.

An important issue facing China Mobile is how to deal with the expected slowdown in the home market, which is thought to be near saturation. The company is therefore targeting overseas markets, and has invested in a major telecommunications unit of Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group. China Mobile is trying to promote the TD-LTE format abroad by allying with local telecommunications equipment makers.

Business Summary

China Mobile Ltd. operates as an investment holding company, which engages in the provision of telecommunications and other related services in Mainland China. The firm offers communications services in all 31 provinces, autonomous regions and directly-administered municipalities throughout Mainland China and in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Its Internet Protocol based core network is capable of supporting the GSM, TD-SCDMA, TD-LTE, and LTE FDD networks. The company was founded on September 3, 1997 and is headquartered in Hong Kong.

Financial Highlights

Dec 2020 HKDUSD
Revenue863,075.16M111,278.45M
Gross Profit213,383.75M27,512.10M
Operating income128,416.80M16,557.10M
Income before tax145,721.67M18,788.26M
Net income121,182.46M15,624.36M
EBITDA322,142.66M41,534.66M
Diluted EPS5.910.76
Dividends Per Share3.290.42
Total Assets2,048.64B264,210.22M
Total liabilities681,873.55M87,940.00M
Total equity1,362.20B175,680.60M
Operating cash flow365,069.99M47,069.39M
Currency in HKDCurrency in USD

Historical Data

HKD | USD
 Dec 2016Dec 2017Dec 2018Dec 2019Dec 2020
Revenue 827,732.21M 853,876.98M 872,728.12M 845,807.57M 863,075.16M
Gross Profit 399,780.23M 418,501.35M 419,691.09M 216,769.67M 213,383.75M
Operating income 146,197.19M 153,045.76M 145,267.34M 131,602.34M 128,416.80M
Income before tax 168,792.07M 170,814.83M 182,281.53M 146,833.11M 145,721.67M
Net income 127,054.99M 131,773.61M 139,506.16M 120,921.98M 121,182.46M
EBITDA 308,127.15M 326,348.95M 327,855.65M 338,902.68M 322,142.66M
Diluted EPS 6.20 6.43 6.81 5.87 5.91
Dividends Per Share 2.73 3.20 3.21 3.25 3.29
Total Assets 1,696.88B 1,827.21B 1,751.48B 1,822.46B 2,048.64B
Total liabilities 601,170.06M 640,115.86M 547,486.60M 583,851.98M 681,873.55M
Total equity 1,092.23B 1,183.20B 1,200.11B 1,234.67B 1,362.20B
Operating cash flow 314,625.89M 301,322.36M 258,815.01M 296,239.08M 365,069.99M
 Dec 2016Dec 2017Dec 2018Dec 2019Dec 2020
Revenue 106,632.75M 109,572.31M 111,352.22M 107,949.73M 111,278.45M
Gross Profit 51,501.76M 53,703.47M 53,548.79M 27,666.13M 27,512.10M
Operating income 18,833.88M 19,639.33M 18,534.80M 16,796.30M 16,557.10M
Income before tax 21,744.67M 21,919.52M 23,257.47M 18,740.19M 18,788.26M
Net income 16,367.88M 16,909.62M 17,799.72M 15,433.17M 15,624.36M
EBITDA 39,694.53M 41,878.17M 41,831.42M 43,253.87M 41,534.66M
Diluted EPS 0.79 0.82 0.86 0.74 0.76
Dividends Per Share 0.35 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.42
Total Assets 218,863.79M 233,739.70M 223,707.71M 233,894.65M 264,210.22M
Total liabilities 77,538.81M 81,884.51M 69,927.46M 74,931.59M 87,940.00M
Total equity 140,876.46M 151,356.87M 153,284.44M 158,458.30M 175,680.60M
Operating cash flow 40,531.74M 38,666.68M 33,022.45M 37,808.75M 47,069.39M

Valuation Measures

Dec 2020
PER7.46
ROA6.26%
ROE9.33%
Operating margin14.87%
Profit margin14.04%

Key executives

  • Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director: Xin Dong
  • Chief Financial Officer & Executive Director: Rong Hua Li
  • Vice President: Qin Jian
  • Vice President: Dachun Zhao
  • Vice President: Tong Qing Gao

Shareholders

  • China State-Owned Assets Supervision & Admn Commission (72.7%)
  • Foresight Fund Management Co., Ltd. (0.4%)
  • Norges Bank Investment Management (0.3%)
  • Thornburg Investment Management, Inc. (0.2%)
  • State Street Global Advisors Asia Ltd. (0.2%)
  • Hang Seng Investment Management Ltd. (0.1%)
  • The Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (0.1%)
  • FIL Investment Management (Hong Kong) Ltd. (0.1%)
  • ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co., Ltd. (0.1%)
  • Bosera Asset Management Co., Ltd. (0.0%)

Contact Details

Related Companies

  • China Mobile Information Technology Co., Ltd.
  • Advanced Roaming & Clearing House Ltd.
  • Zhongyidong Information Technology Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile (Xiong'an) ICT Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile (Shanghai) ICT Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile (Chengdu) ICT Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile Financial Technology Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile IoT Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile Communication (BVI) Ltd.
  • China Mobile Communications Group Gansu Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile Group Guangzhou Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile International (UK) Ltd.
  • China Mobile E-Commerce Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile Communications Group Fujian Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile International (USA), Inc.
  • China Mobile Investment Holdings Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile International Ltd. (Hong Kong)
  • China Mobile System Integration Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile International Holdings Ltd.
  • Jiangxi Mobile Communications Co., Ltd.
  • Guizhou Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile Communications Group Hebei Co. (Xingtai Branch)
  • China Mobile Communications Group Hebei Co., (Chengde Branch)
  • China Mobile Communications Group Jiangxi (Ganzhou Branch)
  • China Mobile Group Terminal Co., Ltd.
  • China Mobile Communications Group Jiangxi (Jiujiang Branch)
  • China Mobile Communications Group Jiangxi /Nanchang Branch/
  • China Mobile Group Fujian Co., Ltd. (Xiamen Branch)
  • China Mobile Group Fujian Co., Ltd. (Quanzhou Branch)
  • China Mobile Internet Co., Ltd.

Competitors

  • China Telecom Corp. Ltd. Class H
  • Eastcompeace Technology Co., Ltd. Class A
  • GDS Holdings Ltd.
  • RocKontrol Technology Group Co. Ltd. Class A
  • Skyworth Digital Co., Ltd. Class A
  • VEON Ltd.

Copyright © 2021 FactSet Research Systems Inc. All rights reserved.

Last Updated on 27 Oct, 2021

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