CHINA TELECOM (00728) saw its shares decline by more than 3% after the release of its quarterly results. At the time of writing, the stock was down 2.94%, trading at HKD 4.96, with a turnover of HKD 32.43 million.

On April 23, the company released its first-quarter report for 2026. The group reported operating revenue of RMB 131.967 billion, a decrease of 2.6% year-on-year. Profit attributable to equity shareholders was RMB 7.35 billion, down 17.1% compared to the same period last year. Basic earnings per share were RMB 0.08.

During the first quarter of 2026, the company fully implemented its strategy focused on cloud transformation, digitalization, and intelligent services. It further accelerated its transition towards becoming a service-oriented, technology-driven, and secure enterprise, while steadily advancing cost reduction and efficiency improvements to effectively drive business development towards new and superior growth.

CICC noted that CHINA TELECOM's service revenue for the first quarter of 2026 fell by 1.6% year-on-year, which was in line with the institution's expectations, primarily due to the impact of value-added tax category reforms. Considering the significant increase in non-operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2025, CICC believes the full-year net profit decline for 2026 is likely to be narrower than the drop seen in the first quarter.