China Mobile's first-quarter profits up 37%

China Mobile's first-quarter net profit was US$3.45 billion, an increase of 37% over a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported. China's largest mobile carrier by subscribers reported an increase in first-quarter revenue of 20% year-on-year, to US$13 billion. It signed up 22.8 million new subscribers, compared to 19.7 million in the fourth quarter of last year. However, the key metric of average revenue per user fell from US$12.15 a year earlier to US$11.72 for the first quarter. An analyst said the drop could be offset by an increase in the number of new subscribers.