- 11 August 2026 - The world's largest telecommunications infrastructure service provider
("China Tower", or the "Company")
(Stock Code: 0788.HK) is pleased to announce its interim results for
the six months ended 30 June 2026.
In the first half of 2026, the Company's operating revenue reached RMB
48,693 million, a decrease of 1.8% year-on-year. EBITDA amounted to RMB
30,252 million, a decrease of 11.6% year-on-year, with an EBITDA
margin[2] of 62.1%. Profit attributable to the owners of the Company
reached RMB 7,489 million, an increase of 30.1% year-on-year, with a net
profit margin of 15.4%.
Net cash generated from operating activities amounted to RMB 7,135
million. Capital expenditure stood at RMB 11,650 million. As at 30 June
2026, our total assets amounted to RMB 351,237 million, with
interest-bearing liabilities of RMB 101,392 million and a gearing
ratio[3] of 31.5%, representing an increase of 3.8 percentage points
from the end of 2025.
The Company attaches great importance to shareholder returns. After
considering our profitability, cash flow and capital requirements for
future development, the board of directors of the Company has resolved
to distribute an interim dividend of RMB 0.19122 per share (pre-tax).[4]
We will work towards realizing steady growth in annual dividend payment
per share and continue creating greater value for shareholders.
Enhanced resource sharing consolidated the TSP business foundation
The Company further deployed the Dual-Gigabit network joint-entry
implementation and made significant progress in implementing special
projects such as upgrading signal strength and extending broadband
coverage to all border areas, forests and grasslands. We focused on
enhancing resource sharing and coordination of network resources in
order to fully satisfy our customers' diverse, high-quality network
construction needs, and support the expansion of 5G network penetration
and coverage. In the first half of 2026, our TSP business recorded
revenue of RMB 40,357 million, a decrease of 5.0% year-on-year.
Tower business. We deepened the implementation of our embedded
service mechanism, aligning with TSPs' network construction planning and
comprehensively addressing their demands for network
standards/frequency bands. We strengthened the innovative application of
regionalized products and comprehensive solutions to fully meet
customers' differentiated needs. Leveraging our extensive site resource
data, we proactively conducted coverage analysis to enhance network
optimization capabilities, helping TSPs achieve precise planning and
precise construction. Focusing on customers' most pressing concerns, we
leveraged the Company's resource coordination advantages and carried out
special initiatives to tackle difficult sites, enhancing construction
and delivery efficiency. We fully implemented the integrated
coordination of "resources + demand", actively engaging with network
coverage needs in key industries such as culture and tourism, education,
and transportation. Adhering to a customer-oriented philosophy, we
continued to optimize end-to-end business processes and management
standards to serve customers' network coverage construction efficiently.
Impacted by customers' optimization and adjustment of network
deployment, simplified base station upgrades, and the continued
development of the unified 4G network by China Telecom and China Unicom,
our Tower business revenue in the first half of 2026 reached RMB 35,263
million, a decrease of 6.7% year-on-year. As of 30 June 2026, the
Company managed a total of 2.172 million tower sites, an increase of
23,000 sites compared to the end of 2025. TSP tenants reached 3.565
million, a decrease of 2,000 compared to the end of 2025. Our TSP
tenancy ratio was 1.69.
DAS business. We continued to focus on high-value and
livelihood-critical scenarios, strengthening resource coordination,
joint construction and shared development. In support of the
implementation of the Technical Standard for Engineering of Mobile
Communication Infrastructure in Buildings, we accelerated engagement
with newly constructed building projects and coordinated the
synchronized planning and construction of supporting telecommunications
facilities, achieving early resource deployment and efficient rollout.
We continued to enhance product and service competitiveness, and
steadily advanced iterative 5G network upgrades on high-speed railways,
upgraded signal strength to tackle coverage in elevators and underground
parking lots and deployed shared repeaters at scale in everyday
scenarios such as tunnels and residential communities, helping TSPs
achieve efficient, intensive and low-cost expansion of indoor and
outdoor network coverage. In the first half of 2026, our DAS business
revenue reached RMB 5,094 million, an increase of 9.2% year-on-year. As
of 30 June 2026, we had covered buildings with a cumulative area of
16.17 billion square meters, while the coverage in railway tunnels and
subways reached a cumulative length of 36,111 kilometers.
Consolidated advantages to drive rapid growth of Two Wings business
The Company continued to strengthen product innovation and optimized
business planning to improve core competencies and drive the continued
rapid growth of our Two Wings business. In the first half of 2026,
revenues from our Two Wings business reached RMB 7,923 million,
accounting for 16.3% of our overall operating revenue and representing
an increase of 2.3 percentage points over the same period last year.
Smart Tower business. Focusing on spatial digital intelligence
governance, we continued to deepen our presence in key sectors and key
scenarios. More than 260,000 "digital towers" now serve over 10
industries, including land and resources, emergency response, water
conservancy, and environmental protection, with our market share
steadily improving in key areas such as straw burning prohibition,
farmland protection, and disaster alert. We deepened resource sharing on
the distributed platform and optimized algorithm iteration for
mid-to-high points. We continued to implement the "AI+" special project,
deepening the application of large models for spatial digital
intelligence governance and promoting the innovative upgrading of
industry application scenarios. We actively positioned ourselves in
emerging fields such as the low-altitude economy, accelerating the
R&D of related products. We continued to uphold a customer-oriented
philosophy, improved our high-standard service system and the
development of local technical support teams, strengthened full-process
support for product iteration and development, project construction and
delivery, and operation and maintenance, and continuously enhanced
customer satisfaction. In the first half of 2026, our Smart Tower
business achieved revenue of RMB 5,332 million, a year-on-year increase
of 12.8%. Of which, RMB 3,200 million was generated from Tower
Monitoring business, accounting for 60.0% of our Smart Tower business.
Energy business. We focused on developing key business segments
including battery exchange and power backup. By leveraging our core
strengths in product, service, and platform, we continued to refine the
quality of our operations and solidify our competitive advantages in the
market. For the battery exchange business, we strengthened our presence
in the consumer express delivery and food delivery sectors and
strengthened the refined operation of our user base, reinforcing
customer retention with high-quality service. As of 30 June 2026, we had
approximately 1.493 million battery exchange users, an increase of
16,000 from the end of 2025, further maintaining our leading position in
the market. We accelerated the deployment of our community charging
infrastructure network for low-speed electric vehicles, enabling service
upgrades and continuously expanding our service coverage and user base.
For the power backup business, we focused on key industry sectors,
analyzed customers' core needs, strengthened platform and service
capability development, stepped up the promotion of comprehensive
industry solutions, and continued to enhance the influence of the China
Tower "energy butler" brand. In the first half of 2026, our Energy
business achieved revenue of RMB 2,591 million, a year-on-year increase
of 17.3%. Of which, the battery exchange business accounted for RMB
1,595 million, up by 20.6% year-on-year, contributing 61.6% of the
Energy business revenue.
Innovation-driven development with steadily enhanced technological capabilities
Focused on the "One Core and Two Wings" strategy, the Company
concentrated its resources on solving technological challenges,
accelerating the commercialization of research achievements, and
fostering the development of new quality productive forces. In the first
half of the year, our R&D investment and R&D team size
increased by 23% and 22%, respectively, while patent applications and
patent authorizations grew by 15% and 132%, respectively, compared to
the same period last year. One technological achievement received the
second prize of the State Science and Technology Progress Award, and we
led the initiation of two additional international standards. A series
of innovative products achieved large-scale commercial application,
including new 5G leaky cables, the Tower Monitoring platform, video AI
algorithms for mid-to-high points, and the integrated energy service
platform. The cumulative number of technological achievements and the
number of achievements deployed at scale increased by 43% and 57%,
respectively, from the end of 2025. The spatial governance data set of
our Tower Monitoring network was recognized as an outstanding
achievement among the high-quality industry data sets of central
state-owned enterprises, while our digital intelligence IoT integrated
governance scenario was included among the strategic high-value AI
scenarios for central state-owned enterprises. Our technology innovation
system continued to improve, with the high-quality development of our
six technological innovation centers. We joined the innovation consortia
and technology commercialization consortia of central enterprises for
fields including the low-altitude economy, robotics, and quantum
technology.
Mr. Zhang Zhiyong, Chairman of China Tower said, "In the first
half of 2026, we actively seized the opportunities brought about by the
national strategies of 'Cyberpower', 'Digital China', and 'Dual Carbon'
goals. Looking ahead, we will remain anchored in the 'One Core and Two
Wings' strategic positioning, focusing on strengthening our core
capabilities and competitiveness, further deepening resource sharing,
and improving operating efficiency, to create greater value for
shareholders, customers, and society."
[1] EBITDA is calculated by operating profit plus depreciation and amortization.
[2] EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing EBITDA by operating revenue, and multiplying the resulting value by 100%.
[3] Gearing ratio is calculated as net debt (Interest-bearing
liabilities minus the amount of cash and cash equivalents) divided by
the sum of total equity and net debt, then multiplied by 100%.
[4] The Company's share consolidation and capital reduction took
effect on 20 February 2025. The Company's total issued share capital was
reduced from 176,008,471,024 shares to 17,600,847,102 shares. Taking
into account the aforementioned change in total issued share capital,
the growth rate is calculated based on the total amount of dividends.