Far EasTone Telecommunication holds its 2024 shareholders' meeting

        Far EasTone Telecommunication held its shareholders' meeting on June 21st, with Douglas Hsu leading Chee Ching President and management team to present the 2023 operating results and future layout. In 2023, various financial indicators such as consolidated total revenue, consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization), net profit after tax, and earnings per share (EPS) all reached new highs in nearly 7 years. The market value also reached NTD 300 billion for the first time in May of this year, achieving impressive results.

        Far EasTone Telecommunication's consolidated total revenue, consolidated EBITDA, and net profit after tax for 2023 are NTD93.69 billion, NTD32.082 billion, and NTD11.86 billion, respectively, with annual growth rates of 5.1%, 4.2%, and 16.4%, respectively; Annual EPS NTD3.42 for 2023. The combined EBITDA and annual growth rate of net profit after tax both rank first in the industry, making it the profit growth king of the telecommunications industry. Its operating performance has been highly recognized by the capital market. Since the beginning of 2023, the stock price has risen by 33% and the market value has risen by 42%, ranking first in the telecommunications industry. At the shareholders' meeting, a cash dividend of NTD 3.25 per share was issued, with a dividend payout ratio of 105%, exceeding 100% for 13 consecutive years.

        Far EasTone Telecommunications market value exceeds 300 billion Douglas Hsu: Do the best regardless of size

        Douglas Hsu said, "Far EasTone Telecommunications aims for sustainable operation, implements corporate governance to the highest standards, and pursues common good. Last year, it even ranked first in the global telecommunications industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), making sustainability a new value for Taiwan. In 2023, Far EasTone Telecommunications' two major growth engines of telecommunications and new economy continue to accelerate, coupled with the merger with Asia Pacific Telecom and investment in net zero transformation, it has been highly recognized by all sectors, leading the industry in terms of stock price growth. This year, its market value has exceeded NTD 300 billion for the first time! Faced with continued competition in the future telecommunications market, Far EasTone Telecommunications Telecommunication will use AI to assist in all aspects, 'regardless of size, only do the best', making consumers the biggest winners

        Chee Ching President stated that Far EasTone Telecommunications will maximize its spectrum resources, achieve sustainable energy conservation, and achieve economies of scale while leveraging its existing advantages. It will also focus on the four pillars of smart information and communication (sustainable smart cities, telecommunications system integration, smart healthcare, and digital transformation), using generative AI to accelerate digital and net zero dual axis transformation, and further empower the strategic business of Far EasTone Telecommunications Big Data+AI+IoT (Big Data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT)) to grow. With the integration of synergy and AI assistance, Far EasTone Telecommunications has surpassed the telecommunications framework and is expected to reach new heights in the next three years.

        5G penetration rate leads Taiwan's new economy revenue and profits, expanding growth for 7 consecutive years

        Far EasTone Telecommunication's mobile communication business continues to achieve excellent results, with the number of monthly users growing for six consecutive years. With users steadily upgrading to 5G, the penetration rate of 5G monthly users has returned to the level before the merger with Asia Pacific Telecom, breaking through 40% and maintaining its position as the industry leader, moving towards the goal of surpassing 45% by the end of the year. The revenue of mobile services and the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of customers have not only continued to grow for three consecutive years, reaching new highs in nearly five years, but also achieved an annual growth rate of 18.3% in mobile services revenue in the first quarter of 2024.

        Far EasTone Telecommunication has successfully created its second growth curve, with new economy revenue and profits expanding for seven consecutive years, accounting for about 20% of total revenue. By continuously optimizing its portfolio of information and communication projects and personal digital services, it has increased its profitability. In 2023, the annual growth rate of new economy profits reached 8.7%, and in the first quarter of 2024, it further expanded to 21%. In the revenue of the new economy, enterprise customers and individual users account for 54% and 46% respectively. In terms of enterprise customers, the annual growth rate of revenue from intelligent communication independent solutions is as high as 75%; Nextlink, a subsidiary of FarEasTone Telecommunication, is deeply involved in cloud integration applications and technology services. It logged into Xinggui in January this year and became a member of the Far EasTone Telecommunication team. In terms of individual users, the revenue performance of digital services such as friDay shopping, friDay video, mobile insurance, and bill collection is impressive, injecting stable growth into the new economy.

        Internal and external AI assisted Far EasTone Telecommunication's "Big Data+AI+IoT" strategy for further growth

        Far EasTone Telecommunication continues to deepen its core expertise in information and communication, fully integrating generative AI into digital governance and optimizing services, and advancing towards four directions of "improving employee productivity, enhancing development capabilities, strengthening information security resilience, and commercial operation applications" to drive operational growth. Including: Far EasTone Telecommunication battle situation dashboard that instantly generates stock prices and market value, financial targets, revenue, etc., with much higher efficiency than manual reorganization reports; At the same time, through digital avatars, users can instantly grasp network traffic and status, issue alerts and work orders for abnormalities, and achieve accurate decision-making.

        Far EasTone Telecommunications assists enterprises in transformation and upgrading, empowering them with AI to achieve success in the "Four Little Dragons" of sustainable smart cities, telecommunications system integration, smart healthcare, and digital transformation. In terms of sustainable smart cities, we assisted Taiwan Port Corporation in establishing a "Smart Operations Management Platform" at the Kaohsiung Tourism Center and also created a "Traffic Signal Uninterruptible Power System (UPS)" for 187 intersections in Taipei City; In terms of telecommunications system integration, we have completed the public sector's "Backbone Fiber Construction Project" and created a "Taiwan wide betting station mobile network service"; In terms of smart healthcare, the "5G remote diagnosis and treatment service" has been promoted to 15 counties, cities, and 51 townships in Taiwan, benefiting over 40000 people, and extending to the first "5G ambulance" emergency rescue, which has supported 8 counties and cities in Taiwan; In terms of digital transformation, we have assisted over 20 enterprises in introducing generative AI related applications, and collaborated with international giants to help enterprises build cloud, data services, and digital resilience.

        For personal digital services, Far EasTone Telecommunication continues to provide diverse innovative services and make good use of AI fans. FriDay Video uses AI interaction to generate recommended playlists, resulting in a click through rate 8 times higher than that of regular recommended playlists. In addition, the Far EasTone Telecommunication Guardian Network prevents users from mistakenly accessing malicious websites. In just one year since its launch, the subscription count has exceeded 600000; The Far EasTone Telecommunication app, which utilizes AI personalized recommendations, has also driven its user base to exceed 6 million. FriDay shopping leads the e-commerce industry by adopting AI recommendation engines to provide consumers with customized shopping experiences.

        The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) has achieved remarkable sustainability results, ranking first in the telecommunications industry globally

        Far EasTone Telecommunications has been committed to sustainable action for a long time and has been recognized by authoritative institutions both domestically and internationally. It has not only been selected as the world's top telecommunications company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World Index (DJSI World), but also ranked first in Taiwan's telecommunications industry in the "Top 5% Global ESG Sustainability Performance" by S&P Global. It is also the only telecommunications industry in Taiwan to have received the highest honor of "Leadership A" in the CDP Climate Change Supplier Agreement Management for four consecutive years, and has been ranked in the top 5% of the Taiwan Stock Exchange's "Corporate Governance Evaluation" for 10 consecutive years. In March 2023, it officially joined RE100, declaring the full use of renewable energy by 2040 and actively moving towards the net zero goal through a multi pronged plan to expand its green energy layout, including self built solar power plants.

        Maximizing the benefits of mergers and acquisitions, aiming to take off within 3 years and create new telecommunications innovations

        After the merger of Far EasTone Telecommunications and Asia Pacific Telecom on December 15, 2023, the company will continue to maximize the three comprehensive effects of spectrum, energy conservation and emission reduction, and economies of scale, and eliminate 5000 old base stations. Combined with AI energy-saving and energy management systems, the company will save 86 million kWh of electricity and approximately 43000 tons of carbon emissions annually. The expansion of the user base of the new Far EasTone Telecommunications has driven multiple business growth, and the original Asia Pacific users continue to upgrade the new Far EasTone Telecommunications service, resulting in an increase in information fees and satisfaction, becoming a new driving force for the growth of telecommunications services and the new economy.

        Looking ahead to the future, Far EasTone Telecommunication, with its excellent advantage of having the safest, most environmentally friendly, and high-quality mobile network, will strive to gain more user support, empower information and communication services and value-added services through generative AI, and drive the growth of the new economy. The goal is to "expand the foundation in one year, achieve success in two years, and take off in three years", maximize integration and synergy, and lead the new Far EasTone Telecommunication to undergo a complete transformation, step towards a new milestone, and create new telecommunications innovations. Far EasTone Telecommunications is highly confident in the healthy competition of the new telecommunications era industry, and will focus on doing the best, providing valuable services, and moving towards mutual benefit with the environment, society, and shareholders.

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