China Tower Forging ahead "One Core and Two Wings" strategy to capture market opportunities

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 9 August 2022 - The world's largest telecommunications infrastructure service provider China Tower Corporation Limited ("China Tower", or the "Company") (Stock Code: 0788.HK) is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2022.

Performance Highlights

RMB Million	For the six months ended 30 June
	2022	2021	Change
Operating revenue	45,479	42,673	+6.6%
EBITDA	31,958	31,184	+2.5%
Profit attributable to owners of the Company	4,224	3,457	+22.2%
Basic earnings per share (RMB yuan)	0.0242	0.0198	+22.2%
Key operating data
Number of tower sites (thousand)	2,049	2,035	+0.7%
Number of tower tenants (thousand)	3,521	3,423	+2.9%
Tower tenancy ratio (tower tenants / tower sites)	1.72	1.68	+2.4%

Our revenue maintained healthy growth while profitability continued to improve in the first half of 2022, with operating revenue reaching RMB45,479 million, up by 6.6% year-on-year. Our EBITDA¹ amounted to RMB31,958 million, an increase of 2.5% over the same period last year, with an EBITDA margin² of 70.3%. Profit attributable to owners of the Company totaled RMB4,224 million, up by 22.2% year-on-year, with a net profit margin of 9.3%.

Our cash flow remained strong. In the first half of 2022, net cash generated from operating activities amounted to RMB31,306 million, an increase of 29.2% year-on-year. Capital expenditures were RMB9,085 million, a reduction of 12.3 year-on-year. As a result, our free cash flow³ reached RMB22,221 million, up by 60.1% year-on-year. Our financial position remained stable and healthy, with the Company's total assets reaching RMB313,523 million as of 30 June 2022. Our interest-bearing liabilities stood at RMB92,428 million with a gearing ratio⁴ of 31.1%, 5.9 percentage points lower than the same period last year.

In the first half of 2021, despite the adverse impact of the pandemic re-emerging in various regions in China, we orchestrated our Covid-19 containment measures and operating activities under the guidance of established strategy, strengthening our capabilities in resource coordination and sharing. Building on the stable development of our telecommunication service provider ("TSP") business, our Smart Tower business and Energy business continued to experience rapid growth.

Dual growth engines of "5G + DAS" enabled stable growth in TSP business

Given the increasing coverage and penetration of 5G network in China, we maintained our focus on the latest market trends and evolving customer demands over the first half of the year and furthered resource coordination and sharing. As a result, we were able to build large-scale 5G networks in a cost- effective and highly efficient manner through offering innovative service and construction models. The Company undertook 318,000 5G base-station demand in the first half of 2022, with the cumulative number reaching 1.544 million as of 30 June 2022, of which 97% were fulfilled by sharing existing resources. Additionally, increasing DAS construction demand promoted even greater growth of DAS business. Given this, "5G + DAS" have emerged as dual growth engines, which secured stable growth of TSP business and cemented our leadership in the construction and operation of telecommunications infrastructure in China.

As of 30 June 2022, the Company was managing a total of 2.049 million tower sites, representing a net increase of 11,000 sites compared to the end of 2021. During the same period, we gained 42,000 new TSP tenants, bringing the total number to 3.302 million. Our TSP tenancy ratio also grew from 1.60 as at the end of 2021 to 1.62. With regard to our DAS business, we had covered buildings with a cumulative area of 5,970 million square meters, up by 35.4% from the same period last year, while the high-speed railway tunnels and subway coverage totaled a cumulative length of 18,276 kilometers, an increase of 26.6% over the same period last year.

In the first half of 2022, our TSP business revenue reached RMB41,345 million, up by 3.9% year-on- year, among which tower business revenue accounted for RMB38,592 million while DAS business represented RMB2,753 million, a year-on-year growth of 2.3% and 32.0% respectively.

Strengthening advantages in resources and capabilities, Two Wings business maintained the momentum of growth


The development of the digital economy and the national "dual carbon" goals have presented ample opportunities to our business. We leveraged our resources and strengths to scale up and explore new possibilities of sharing, enabling the advancement of digitalization and adoption of new energy applications in society. As a result, our Two Wings business continued to experience rapid growth. Over the first half of the year, Two Wings business recorded revenue of RMB4,010 million, a year-on- year increase of 46.5%, accounting for 8.8% of our overall operating revenue and contributing 45.4% of the incremental operating revenue.

Smart Tower business expanded industry applications and sharpened competitive edge. We seized new opportunities flowing from the rapid development of the digital economy and sped up the upgrading of "telecommunication tower" to "digital tower" by utilizing our existing site resources, localized operations and maintenance, and centralized digital platform. For Tower Monitoring service, we increased investment on research and development, launching differentiated products to meet customer needs while enhancing our digital services, with a focus on key sectors including environmental protection, forestry, agriculture and land. In the first half of 2022, Smart Tower business