Taiwan-based Chunghwa Telecom attributed higher post-paid ARPU to rising 5G adoption in Q1, which together with an increase in subscribers fuelled gains in mobile service revenue.

Chairman and CEO Shieh Chi-Mau stated Chunghwa Telecom registered a strong performance under a new corporate structure, despite facing challenges of new Covid-19 (coronavirus) strains and global factors.

On an earnings call, president and director Harrison Kuo noted 5G penetration was above 20 per cent and Chunghwa Telecom aimed to surpass 30 per cent by end-December.

He said Chunghwa Telecom registered an average 35 per cent uplift in monthly fees for customers opting for 5G service when renewing contracts, with many switching from TWD499 ($16.89) plans to a TWD999 option.

Net profit rose 2.5 per cent year-on-year to TWD9 billion and revenue 2.4 per cent to TWD51.3 billion, led by 4.9 per cent growth in mobile service sales to TWD14.8 million.

Post-paid ARPU improved 3.2 per cent to TWD515 and overall subscribers rose 5.3 per cent to 12 million.

Enterprise revenue increased 2.1 per cent to TWD15.8 billion.

Capex was up 17.8 per cent to TWD5.2 billion as Chunghwa Telecom expanded its 5G network, with spending on mobile accounting for 43 per cent of the total.