Chunghwa Telecom has reported first-quarter 2026 revenue growth of 7.5 percent to NT$ 59.99 billion, driven by strong ICT demand, rising 5G penetration, broadband expansion and improving mobile ARPU.
Operating income of Chunghwa Telecom increased 4.6 percent to NT$ 13.10 billion, while EBITDA rose 3.4 percent to NT$ 23.30 billion as the operator strengthened its digital infrastructure and AI-focused business strategy.
Net income increased 3.2 percent to NT$ 10.11 billion, while earnings per share reached NT$ 1.30. The telecom operator said revenue, operating income, net income and EPS all exceeded the high-end target of quarterly guidance, marking its highest first-quarter revenue since 2012.
Chairman and CEO Chih‑Cheng Chien said strong ICT momentum, cloud demand and AI-related opportunities contributed significantly to the company’s performance. President Rong-Shy Lin highlighted growth in IDC, cloud and AIoT services as major contributors to revenue expansion.
The Consumer Business Group generated revenue of NT$ 36.73 billion, up 6.2 percent year-on-year, supported by stable telecom service growth, increasing 5G adoption and strong iPhone demand. Income before tax for the division increased 5.3 percent.
Chunghwa Telecom’s mobile business continued to deliver stable subscriber and ARPU growth. Total mobile subscribers increased 1.7 percent to 13.34 million at the end of March 2026. Mobile service revenue rose 4.4 percent to NT$ 17.70 billion, while post-paid mobile ARPU excluding IoT SIMs increased 3.6 percent year-on-year to NT$ 573, supported by rising 5G penetration and higher-value customer migration.
Broadband and internet services also showed resilience. Total broadband subscribers increased 0.5 percent to 4.45 million, while HiNet broadband subscribers rose 1.4 percent to 3.80 million. Fixed broadband revenue grew 3.0 percent to NT$ 11.81 billion, while broadband ARPU improved 2.5 percent to NT$ 818, reflecting customer upgrades to higher-speed services.
The Enterprise Business Group posted revenue growth of 8.5 percent to NT$ 18.81 billion, driven by strong ICT demand across cloud, cybersecurity, AIoT and network resilience projects. However, pre-tax profit declined 2.7 percent due to continued weakness in fixed voice services. Chunghwa Telecom said ICT order intake reached a quarterly record high, supported by anti-fraud systems, national fiscal projects and public surveillance infrastructure contracts.
The International Business Group reported revenue growth of 10.7 percent to NT$ 2.70 billion, while income before tax increased 1.6 percent. Growth was supported by higher roaming revenue and increasing international ICT demand. The company also expanded investment in the AUG-East submarine cable project, increasing Taiwan-to-Japan and Taiwan-to-Singapore bandwidth capacity to more than 18 Tbps to support growing international data traffic.
Total operating costs and expenses increased 8.3 percent to NT$ 46.89 billion due to higher ICT project costs, rising sales activity and increased personnel expenses, putting pressure on operating margin, which declined to 21.75 percent from 22.44 percent a year earlier. EBITDA margin also declined to 38.85 percent from 40.37 percent.
Cash flow from operations decreased 13.6 percent to NT$ 11.19 billion, while cash and cash equivalents increased 20.8 percent to NT$ 35.10 billion.
Chunghwa Telecom is positioning AI, cloud infrastructure and next-generation networks at the centre of its long-term growth strategy. The operator is advancing phased 5G standalone deployment in selected vertical industries and high-traffic commercial districts as part of its transition toward 6G infrastructure.
The company is building its “CHT AI Factory platform,” integrating DeepFlow AI solutions, computing infrastructure, AI models and AI agents to accelerate AI-enabled enterprise applications and boost AI-related revenue growth during 2026. Chunghwa Telecom said balancing stable telecom cash flow with high-growth digital services remains central to its long-term business strategy.