China Unicom – the country’s second-largest operator that is on the verge of launching 3G WCDMA services – has announced a 58 percent increase in full-year 2008 net profit, boosted by a one-time gain from the sale of its CDMA business to China Telecom. China Unicom today posted net income of CNY33.91 billion (US$4.96 billion), from a restated CNY21.4 billion a year earlier. Sales from continuing operations fell to CNY148.9 billion from a restated CNY150.7 billion. The operator had restated its 2007 earnings to include contributions from China Netcom, which it acquired in October as part of last year’s industry restructuring.

China Unicom’s chief executive Chang Xiaobing said the company plans to become the country’s only WCDMA operator on 17 May, when it will launch 3G services in 55 cities. To fund expansion, capital spending will increase 56 percent this year to CNY110 billion, following a 4.3 percent rise in mobile revenue last year to CNY65.25 billion. China Unicom’s GSM subscriber base is also growing fast, with a year-on-year increase in 2008 of 12.8 million subscribers (10.6 percent), giving a total base of 133.4 million. Meanwhile, Unicom said it booked a CNY11.8 billion charge at its low-cost network known as ‘Xiaolingtong’ (‘Little Smart’). Last month, the government ordered China’s operators to shut down the service to avoid frequency interference with China’s homegrown third-generation wireless technology, TD-SCDMA, that is being used by dominant operator China Mobile. China Unicom today said it does not expect to book any impairment losses this year from closing the business. Mobile Business Briefing has previously reported on the 2008 financial results for China Unicom’s rivals, China Mobile and China Telecom.