China Unicom 2012 profit jumps by two-thirds

HONG KONG (AP) — State-owned phone company China Unicom says 2012 profit jumped by more than two-thirds as revenue from third-generation mobile services surged.

China Unicom said Thursday it earned 7.1 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) last year, up 68 percent from 2011.

The Beijing-based company's revenue rose 19 percent to 249 billion yuan ($40 billion).

Unicom said revenue grew rapidly as it expanded its 3G and fixed line broadband internet services. The company's upbeat results come amid intense competition for customers with state-owned rivals China Mobile and China Telecom.

Chinese phone carriers have faced tougher conditions since Beijing restructured the industry in 2008 into three groups, each with mobile and fixed-line assets, to boost industry development.

Unicom said it added 20 percent more mobile subscribers last year, bringing the total to 293.3 million.