中国移动年利润下降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.

全球最大移动网络运营商中国移动(China Mobile) 2014年利润下降10%，至1093亿元人民币，这在一定程度上是由与去年推出4G服务有关的一项宏大资本支出计划导致的。

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.

上述利润数字略高于此前路透(Reuters)调查得到的分析师预测值，后者为1086亿元人民币（合175亿美元）。中国移动的营收达到6414亿元人民币，同比增长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.

分析师预计，中国移动2015年的业绩将会好转。“随着资本支出的驼峰成为过去，现金流将大幅改善，”券商桑福德伯恩斯坦(Sanford Bernstein)在一份简报中表示。

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

“该公司的战略显然集中于4G以及扩大和保护其网络优势，”它补充说。

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.

尽管中国移动拥有中国62%的移动电话用户，但由于该公司的3G网络速度缓慢，其移动数据流量份额相对较小；该公司正寻求通过大举部署4G技术来补救这一问题。

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问题之后，中国移动比竞争对手早一年拿到4G牌照，于是该公司迅速采取行动推出4G服务。凭借其2014年安装到位的50万座基站，中国移动在转换用户方面比两家竞争对手——中国联通(China Unicom)和中国电信(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.

该公司的网络规划还使其率先开始销售苹果(Apple)的iPhone，此举已被证明非常受欢迎。

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.

这项战略已取得成果。2014年底，在中国工业和信息化部报告的总共9700万4G用户中，中国移动拥有其中的9010万。该公司继续占领市场，去年第四季度吸引了84%的新增3G和4G用户。

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

该公司表示，移动数据流量营收同比增长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，本月中国电信和中国联通均获得了启动全面4G服务的许可，对中国移动的先发优势构成威胁。

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.

根据年度业绩报告会上透露的消息，在完成了4G网络的主要建设阶段后，中国移动预计资本支出将从去年的2135亿元人民币降至2015年的1997亿元人民币。

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年建设50万座基站（这是一项浩大的建设任务，占全球4G资本支出的50%左右），中国移动表示，2015年只计划新建30万座4G基站。