According to internal operational data from China Telecom Corporation Limited, the company's digital business revenue finally achieved positive growth in the first seven months of this year.
**Digital Revenue Turns Positive After Period of Decline**
Data shows that in the first seven months of this year, China Telecom's digital business revenue reached over 90 billion yuan, representing a year-over-year growth of 1.6%. According to the company's interim report, industrial digitalization revenue reached 74.9 billion yuan in the first half of the year, with AIDC revenue growing 7.4% year-over-year, though specific growth rates for digital business revenue were not explicitly disclosed.
Throughout the first half of this year, China Telecom's digital business revenue had been experiencing negative growth. For instance, revenue declined approximately 2% year-over-year in the first three months, and about 1% in the first five months. The achievement of positive growth of 1.6% in the first seven months marks a significant turnaround.
**Sharp Contrast to Previous Double-Digit Growth**
China Telecom's digital business had demonstrated remarkable growth momentum in previous years, with revenue growth rates of 19.7% in 2022 and 19.4% in 2023, gradually becoming a key driver of the group's performance growth. However, growth began to decelerate in 2024, reaching only 5.5% for the full year.
Consequently, China Telecom has set a clear target for digital business revenue growth in 2025: approximately 8%. Currently, with the business only beginning to show positive growth in the first seven months at 1.6%, there remains a significant gap to the target, and whether the company can achieve its goal remains uncertain.
**Five Provincial Subsidiaries Drive Growth Performance**
Among the provincial subsidiaries, 11 companies met their sequential progress targets in the first seven months, with the top five performers including Tianjin Telecom, Jiangxi Telecom, Tibet Telecom, Henan Telecom, and Guangxi Telecom.
Additionally, 20 provincial subsidiaries achieved positive growth, with the top five being Ningxia Telecom, Qinghai Telecom, Shanxi Telecom, Tianjin Telecom, and Hunan Telecom.
Notably, most of the top-performing subsidiaries are northern provincial companies and smaller-scale operations, which typically find it easier to achieve higher growth rates compared to larger subsidiaries due to their smaller base volumes.
Overall, China Telecom's digital business revenue growth is gradually improving, with most provincial subsidiaries beginning to achieve positive growth, representing a positive trend for the company's performance.