China Unicom expects net profit to jump 117 pct in first three quarters
HONG KONG, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Telecom giant China Unicom said net profit in the first three quarters of the year will be around 8.78 billion yuan ($1.27 billion), up 116.6 percent from a year earlier, as mixed-ownership reforms boosted growth.
The mixed-ownership reform program aims to bring private-sector investment and management into state-owned companies to enhance efficiency and competitiveness.
China Unicom said in a filing on Sunday that net profit during the period was boosted by a 1.5 billion yuan gain arising from the change in its shareholding in China Tower after its IPO earlier this year.
It said market competition may intensify in the forth quarter, but that it will step up investments in innovative businesses and its internet operations.
For the nine months to the end of September, China Unicom expects overall service revenue to grow 6.5 percent to 200 billion yuan, mobile service revenue to rise 7.2 percent to 125.4 billion yuan, and fixed-line service revenue to increase 5.2 percent to 73.2 billion yuan.
The company is due to report results on Oct 22.
($1 = 6.9291 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
