Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) Q4 FY25 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Chunghwa solidified its Taiwan mobile lead in 2025 with record-high positions: regulator data put mobile revenue market share at an unprecedented^🌐 41% and subscriber share at 39.7%, driven by postpaid growth. 5G subscriber market share rose to 39.2%, and 5G penetration among the company's smartphone users reached 46.4% by year-end.

The average monthly-fee uplift from 5G migration stayed robust at 41%, translating into Q4 mobile service revenue growth of 4.7% YoY (a recent record high) and postpaid ARPU up 3.6% YoY. Management expects the favorable market landscape to sustain this trajectory into 2026.

Fixed broadband ARPU reached a new high of TWD 819/month in Q4, lifting broadband revenue 3.8% YoY on only 0.5% YoY subscriber growth — a deliberate ARPU-over-volume strategy powered by high-speed upgrade promotions and MOD bundles. Subscribers on 300Mbps+ plans grew 13% YoY, 500Mbps+ posted double-digit growth, and 1Gbps+ subscriptions doubled in the fourth quarter.

Multiple-play packages (mobile + fixed broadband + WiFi) rose 17% YoY, the 16th consecutive quarter of expansion.

Q4 group ICT revenue fell 6% YoY against a high prior-year base, though full-year ICT still grew robustly. Recurring ICT revenue rose 15% YoY across all major service lines. By category, IDC (+19%, aided by a Mexico project completion), Big Data (+3%) and 5G private network (+88%, on public- and private-sector project recognition) grew, while cloud (-16%), AIDC (-27%) and cybersecurity (-16%) declined on tough comparisons and revenue front-loaded earlier in 2025.

New wins included a first integrated AI customer-service system for a leading Taiwanese financial institution and a flagship government labor-insurance platform upgrade valued above TWD 3B.

International subsidiaries' revenue declined 7% YoY on softened voice demand and a higher US/Japan ICT base, partly offset by 12% YoY growth in Southeast Asia (completed Singapore and Thailand construction projects). A Malaysia subsidiary commenced operations in December 2025. Management flagged a US pipeline of secured AI-supply-chain projects in Texas and California expected to boost 2026 US performance.

IBG revenue grew 2.5% YoY, with completion of the SJC2 and first-phase Apricot submarine cables lifting IBG fixed-line services revenue 2.2% YoY.

Q4 consolidated revenue was TWD 65.65B (+0.5% YoY, highest Q4 in nearly a decade) and EPS rose to TWD 1.20 from TWD 1.16 (highest Q4 EPS in 10 years). Q4 income from operations fell 2.2% YoY on a one-off^📎 3G network-sunset equipment impairment and a high prior-year investment-property valuation base, while income before tax rose 2.1% on investment-disposal gains.

Full-year revenue hit an all-time-high TWD 236.11B (+2.7%), operating income +3.6%, net income +4%, and EBITDA TWD 88.77B (+2.6%, 37.6% margin). The debt ratio improved to 25.25% and net debt-to-EBITDA stood at 0; the company issued its first-ever biodiversity-focused sustainability bonds.

FY2025 capex fell 3.7% to TWD 27.7B — mobile capex down TWD 1.4B as 5G deployment passed its peak, non-mobile up 2% on submarine cables. For 2026 the budget rises to TWD 31.91B, with mobile capex guided down 6.3% (fifth consecutive annual decline since the 2021 peak) and non-mobile capex up 24%, concentrated in IDC, satellite and fixed-line maintenance/cables.

Non-mobile now represents more than three-quarters of total capex; an analyst pressed for greater non-mobile capex disclosure going forward^⏳.