中國移動年利潤下降10%

Profits at China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile network, fell 10 per cent to Rmb109.3bn in 2014, partly the result of an ambitious capital expenditure programme surrounding the launch last year of its 4G service.

全球最大移動網絡運營商中國移動(China Mobile) 2014年利潤下降10%，至1093億元人民幣，這在一定程度上是由與去年推出4G服務有關的一項宏大資本支出計劃導致的。

The profit was slightly higher than the Rmb108.6bn ($17.5bn) forecast by analysts polled by Reuters. China Mobile’s revenues of Rmb641.4bn were 1.8 per cent higher from a year ago.

上述利潤數字略高於此前路透(Reuters)調查得到的分析師預測值，後者爲1086億元人民幣（合175億美元）。中國移動的營收達到6414億元人民幣，同比增長1.8%。

Analysts expect China Mobile to have a better 2015. “Cash flow will improve dramatically as the capex hump is now behind us,” said Sanford Bernstein, the brokerage, in a note.

分析師預計，中國移動2015年的業績將會好轉。“隨着資本支出的駝峯成爲過去，現金流將大幅改善，”券商桑福德伯恩斯坦(Sanford Bernstein)在一份簡報中表示。

“The company’s strategy is clearly centred on 4G and on extending and protecting their network-based advantage,” it added.

“該公司的戰略顯然集中於4G以及擴大和保護其網絡優勢，”它補充說。

While China Mobile boasts 62 per cent of all mobile phone customers in China, its share of mobile data traffic is relatively small due to its slow 3G network, which the company is seeking to remedy with a widespread rollout of 4G technology.

儘管中國移動擁有中國62%的移動電話用戶，但由於該公司的3G網絡速度緩慢，其移動數據流量份額相對較小；該公司正尋求通過大舉部署4G技術來補救這一問題。

Following problems with its 3G service — which is painfully slow — the company moved swiftly to roll out 4G, receiving its 4G licence a year before its rivals. Due to 500,000 completed base stations in 2014, China Mobile got the jump on it two competitors, China Unicom and China Telecom, in the race to convert subscribers.

在遭受其3G速度慢得令人痛苦的問題之後，中國移動比競爭對手早一年拿到4G牌照，於是該公司迅速採取行動推出4G服務。憑藉其2014年安裝到位的50萬座基站，中國移動在轉換用戶方面比兩家競爭對手——中國聯通(China Unicom)和中國電信(China Telecom)——先行了一步。

The company was also the first to begin selling Apple’s iPhone with its network plans, which have proved hugely popular.

該公司的網絡規劃還使其率先開始銷售蘋果(Apple)的iPhone，此舉已被證明非常受歡迎。

The strategy has borne fruit. China Mobile finished 2014 with 90.1m 4G subscribers out of a total reported 97m by China’s Ministry of Industry and Trade. The company has continued to capture the market — registering 84 per cent of total 3G and 4G subscriber additions for the fourth quarter.

這項戰略已取得成果。2014年底，在中國工業和信息化部報告的總共9700萬4G用戶中，中國移動擁有其中的9010萬。該公司繼續佔領市場，去年第四季度吸引了84%的新增3G和4G用戶。

The company said mobile data traffic revenue rose by 42 per cent over the year.

該公司表示，移動數據流量營收同比增長43%。

However, this month both China Telecom and China Unicom received permission to begin full 4G services, threatening China Mobile’s first mover advantage.

然而，本月中國電信和中國聯通均獲得了啓動全面4G服務的許可，對中國移動的先發優勢構成威脅。

Having completed the main building phase of the 4G network, the company forecast that capex would fall from Rmb213.5bn last year to Rmb199.7bn in 2015, according to the annual results presentation.

根據年度業績報告會上透露的消息，在完成了4G網絡的主要建設階段後，中國移動預計資本支出將從去年的2135億元人民幣降至2015年的1997億元人民幣。

Compared to building 500,000 base stations in 2014 — a mammoth building task which accounted for about 50 per cent of worldwide 4G capital expenditure — China Mobile said it planned to build only 300,000 new 4G base stations in 2015.

相比2014年建設50萬座基站（這是一項浩大的建設任務，佔全球4G資本支出的50%左右），中國移動表示，2015年只計劃新建30萬座4G基站。