[ET Net News Agency, 20 October 2017] China Unicom (00762) announced 9-month
preliminary results and September 2017 monthly operating data. It 9-month earnings of
CNY4.1bn already reached Nomura's FY2017 Unicom earnings forecast.
The research house said it has long argued that mixed ownership reform should help
Unicom to achieve recovery in business and financials. It thinks the highest mobile
service revenue growth rate since 2Q 2014 and strong net-adds number in recent months
confirm that Unicom has indeed benefited from its changing business model by utilizing
2I2C and 2B2C resources.
Nomura expects the company to gradually recover on net profit margin, although in 4Q
there might be some one-off pressures from the cancellation of long-distance and roaming
fees. It maintained its "buy" rating and target price of HK$16.5. (KL)