State-owned China Tower eked out modest growth in the first three quarters of 2023, with strong gains in its small but expanding smart tower and energy units offsetting weakness in its core telecoms service provider (TSP) business.

Net profit in the nine-month period increased 14.8 per cent year-on-year to CNY7.3 billion ($999.5 million), with operating revenue up 2.1 per cent to CNY70.1 billion. 

Its smart tower business grew 28.8 per cent to CNY5.2 billion, and its energy unit booked a 32 per cent increase to CNY3 billion. The two units accounted for 11.7 per cent of total sales, up from 9.2 per cent a year earlier. 

Chairman Zhang Zhiyong noted in a statement the energy business aims to develop a platform for sharing resources, with a focus on battery exchange and power backup.

Tower business revenue dipped 2.7 per cent to CNY56.4 billion. Excluding the impact of new commercial rental agreements with the country’s mobile operators, TSP revenue was up 3.6 per cent.

Indoor distributed antenna (DAS) turnover jumped 24.5 per cent to CNY5.3 billion.