China Unicom Expects Strong Growth in 1st Half Net Profit

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (0762.HK) is expected to report a 68.9% rise in net profit to 2.4 billion yuan ($360 million) in the first half, on strong demand for high-speed telecommunication services and reduced costs.

The Chinese telecommunication operator said after markets closed Friday that its first-half service revenue is expected to rise 3.2% to 124.1 billion yuan, of which mobile service revenue is expected to be around CNY76.8 billion, up by 5.2%.

In the first-half, China Unicom's total operating cost is expected to fall 2.5% on year to CNY133.5 billion.

The mobile operator said its financial performance in the second half will face rising pressure amid intensifying competition and the termination of domestic long-distance and roaming fees from September.

Write to Joanne Chiu at joanne.chiu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 13, 2017 19:56 ET (23:56 GMT)