The company expects strong demand for xiaolingtong services to continue
Nasdaq-listed telecommunications equipment supplier UTStarcom has lifted its full-year earnings and revenue forecasts as China's fixed-line operators accelerate their nationwide rollout of xiaolingtong semi-mobile services.
UTStarcom, the biggest supplier of xiaolingtong equipment to China, lifted its full-year revenue guidance by one-tenth to between US$1.8 billion and $1.82 billion after seeing strong growth in second-quarter earnings. It also revised up its full-year earnings per share forecast by 3.3 per cent to between $1.55 and $1.56.
'We've been seeing a very strong demand for our handsets. We built a lot more infrastructure in the first and second quarters, so these handsets accounts for the current infrastructure, then we'll see more expansion contracts coming in towards the fourth quarter,' UTStarcom founder and chief executive Hong Liang Lu said.
UTStarcom forecasts the number of xiaolingtong users will reach 25 million to 30 million by the year-end, against an earlier estimate of 20 million to 25 million.
The company said its second-quarter net profit surged 53 per cent year on year and 5.5 per cent quarter on quarter to US$39.41 million. Turnover rose 75 per cent year on year or 23 per cent quarter on quarter to $405.83 million.