China Unicom Nine-Month Net Profit More Than Doubled to CNY4.05 Billion

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (0762.HK) said net profit more than doubled for the first nine months of the year on the back of strong demand for high-speed data services, as well as lower marketing expenses and handset subsidies.

The Chinese mobile operator said Friday that profit was 4.05 billion yuan ($609.5 million), compared with CNY1.59 billion a year ago.

The results were in line with the approximately CNY4.1 billion of net profit it forecast last week.

In the nine-month period, the company's total revenue was CNY205.78 billion, slightly lower than the CNY207.14 billion it recorded a year ago. Mobile service revenue rose 6.7% to CNY117.04 billion.

Despite the strong growth, China Unicom on Friday warned of rising pressure on its financial performance in the fourth quarter.

China Unicom's results came after bigger rival China Mobile Ltd. (0941.HK) last week reported net-profit growth of only 4.6% against a backdrop of intensifying competition.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 27, 2017 05:50 ET (09:50 GMT)