Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (
Income before tax is expected to amount to NT$4.16 billion (US$129.9 million) this quarter, up from NT$3.94 billion in the previous quarter, the operator said after the board approved the forecast yesterday.
Service revenues, however, would grow at a slower pace by 1.3 percent to NT$15.6 billion from NT$15.4 billion, according to the statement.
Capital expenditures for this year would be around NT$7 billion -- NT$8 billion, making up about 10 to 12 percent of the company's annual service revenues, Far EasTone president Jan Nilsson told reporters after the annual general shareholder meeting.
Shareholders yesterday also elected a new nine-member board, with Douglas Hsu (徐旭東) continuing to serve as chairman of Far EasTone.
The shareholder meeting was the first since the merger between Far EasTone and KG Telecommunications Co (
Leslie Koo (
Shareholders also approved the proposal to deliver a cash dividend of NT$3.1 per share, which represents over 80 percent of the NT$3.8 earnings per share declared last year. Far EasTone posted NT$14.72 billion in net income for last year on revenue of NT$71.91 billion. The NT$3.1 cash dividend also represents a yield of about 7.53 percent, compared with the company's closing price of NT$41.15 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.