China Mobile has published its performance for the first half of 2009 and states it made net profit of CNY55.329 billion.

According to statistics provided by the company, its operating revenue increased by 8.9% year-on-year to CNY212.913 billion during the period while its net profit increased by 1.4% to CNY55.329 billion. The company will pay an interim dividend of HKD1.346 per share and the goal of the company is to realize the dividend payout ratio of 43% in the year of 2009.

In the first six months of 2009, China Mobile's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were CNY109.9 billion, an increase of 5.8% compared with the same period of last year, and its EBITDA profit rate was 51.6%.

By service type, its revenue from voice communication fees was CNY134.929 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.05%; revenue from monthly fees was CNY8.379 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 14.5%; and revenue from value-added services was CNY59.891 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.66%.

In addition, China Mobile's report shows that its costs in the first half of 2009 were CNY62.832 billion, accounting for 29.5% of its operating revenue. Of the total costs, 70% were invested in its 3G networks.

For user group, the Chinese telecom operator gained 35.87 million new users, reaching a total scale of 493 million. Of the total, 956,000 were 3G users.