TAIPEI, Taiwan, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd (TAIEX: 2412; NYSE: CHT) ('Chunghwa' or 'the Company'), today reported its operating results for the first six months of 2009. All figures were presented on a consolidated basis and prepared in accordance to generally accepted accounting principles in the Republic of China ('ROC GAAP').

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    (Comparisons, unless otherwise stated, are with the prior year period)
    Financial Highlights for 1H09:
    -- Total consolidated revenue decreased by 3.7% to NT$97.2 billion
    -- Internet and data revenue decreased by 0.2% to NT$24.7 billion
    -- Mobile revenue decreased by 2.9% to NT$35.2 billion; mobile VAS revenue
       increased by 18.5% to NT$4.1 billion
    -- Net income totaled NT$22.3 billion, representing a decrease of 4.2%
    -- Basic earnings per share (EPS) decreased by 4.1% to NT$2.09
    Financial Highlights for 2Q09:
    -- Total consolidated revenue decreased by 3.8% to NT$48.1 billion
    -- Internet and data revenue remained flat at NT$12.3 billion;
       ADSL & FTTx revenue increased by 0.4% to NT$4.9 billion;
       Managed data services and other revenues increased by 11.1% to NT$1.2
       billion
    -- Mobile revenue decreased by 2.6% to NT$17.7 billion; mobile VAS revenue
       increased by 18.5% to NT$2.0 billion
    -- Net income totaled NT$11.5 billion, representing a decrease of 8.3%
    -- Basic earnings per share (EPS) decreased by 8.3% to NT$1.08

Revenues

Chunghwa's total consolidated revenues for the first half of 2009 decreased by 3.7% year-over-year to NT$97.2 billion, of which 27.3% was from fixed-line services, 36.3%was from mobile services, 25.4% was from Internet and data services, and the remainder was mainly from handset sales from Chunghwa's subsidiary SENAO on a consolidated basis. The primary reason for the total revenue decline was due to the deteriorating economic environment and market competition, which resulted in the reduced traffic for fixed line and mobile businesses.

For the mobile business, total revenue for the first half of 2009 amounted to NT$35.2 billion, representing a decline of 2.9% year-over-year. For the first half of 2009, Chunghwa achieved some progress via increased subscriber numbers of 3.0% and enhanced VAS service revenues of 18.5% compared to the first half of 2008. However, these successes were offset by the economic downturn and the market competition Chunghwa's internet and data revenue decreased slightly by 0.2% year-over-year to NT$24.7 billion in the first half of 2009, mainly due to the tariff reduction for HiNet and ADSL services. As of the end of first half of 2009, Chunghwa provides FTTx to about 1,342 thousand of subscribers, compared to 782 thousand as of the end of first half of 2008.

In the first half of 2009, fixed-line revenue totaled NT$26.5 billion, decreasing 7.7% year-over-year. The local and domestic long distance revenues decreased by 5.7% to NT$16.3 billion and by 10.5% to NT$3.8 billion year-over- year, respectively, for the first half of 2009. These decreases were mainly due to the economic downturn, as well as mobile and VOIP substitution. Similarly, international long distance revenue decreased by 10.7% year-over- year to NT$6.3 billion, as a result of the overall economic downturn, VOIP substitution and market competition.

Finally, other revenue decreased by 4.0% to NT$10.7 billion in the first half of 2009 compared to same period last year, mainly due to the decrease of handset sales.

For the second quarter of 2009, total revenue was NT$48.1 billion, a 3.8% decrease from the same period last year.