Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Taiwan Mobile's conference call. Our Chairperson today is Mr. Jamie Lin. Mr. Lin, please begin the call. I will be standing by for the question as necessary.
Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Taiwan Mobile's fourth quarter 2022 earnings conference call. Before I start our presentation, let's go over our disclaimer as per usual. Disclaimer: The information contained in this presentation, including all forward-looking information, is subject to change without notice, whether as a result of new information, further events, or otherwise. Taiwan Mobile Co., Ltd. and hereafter the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise information contained in this presentation. No representation or warranty, either expressed or implied, is provided in relation to the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information contained herein, nor is the information intended to be a complete statement of the company, markets, or developments referred to in this presentation. Now that we are done with the housekeeping, let's head straight to business overview. Please turn to page four for highlights of 2022.
Taiwan Mobile's 2022 consolidated revenues rose by 10% year-over-year to over TWD 170 billion, setting a new record. This was propelled by solid output by our three core engines, namely 5G, e-commerce, and home broadband. 5G postpaid penetration steadily increased during the year, driven by the iPhone 14 series as well as our unique bundles, namely momobile, or MobiDo in Mandarin, Double Play or [Non-English content ], Disney+ and OP Life or [ Non-English content ]. As a result, smartphone postpaid ARPU climbed by 1.6% year-over-year, while our bundle mobile service revenue growth accelerated to 2.6% year-over-year. For e-commerce, momo's 2022 consolidated revenues rose by 17% YoY, setting another record high and crossing the TWD 100 billion milestone, despite a COVID-related high base.
Home broadband, on the other hand, continued to see double digit revenue growth as demand for Double Play bundles remained favorable. With more benign competition in the telecom industry, consolidated EBITDA grew 4% YoY, beating our full-year guidance and reaching an all-time high. Let's turn to page five for a closer look at our mobile business. 4Q 2022 marked the seventh consecutive quarter of YoY improvement in smartphone postpaid ARPU and mobile service revenue, driven by accelerated 5G conversion that was in turn aided by the new iPhone as well as stable 4G pricing. The monthly fee uplift from the renewals to 5G remained steady at 24% during the quarter. In addition to iPhone 14 bundles, our unique rate plan packages continue to play a key role in upselling customers.
As of 4Q 2022, 17% of our smartphone users were on one of these bundles, up from 15% in the previous quarter. momobile users' contribution to momo's e-commerce revenue further advanced, reaching 8.4% in December vs 6.7% a quarter ago. Meanwhile, we expanded our footprint of Double Play bundles by 18%, with 60% of our users on $999 or higher rate plans, providing steady tailwind to ARPU. Disney+ bundles continue to see sign-up momentum, while OP Life bundles had 50% of the signups on $1399 or higher rate plans, and a significantly higher proportion of users on 48-month or longer contracts than that of our regular 5G handset bundles. On top of our wide variety of unique rate plans and add-on services, our continuous investments in 48-month handset bundles since 5G launch also started to pay off, resulting in a lower postpaid monthly churn rate of 0.84% in 2022.
I'm pleased to share that this churn rate drops even further this January to a historical low of 0.66%. Our game publishing business, on the other hand, had another solid quarter, delivering a 43% YoY rise in its revenues. We had secured exclusive distribution rights to the iconic League of Legends title last November and saw elevated momentum on the back of its launch in January. Roaming business grew as well, reporting a 38% QoQ revenue boost as international travel gradually recovered. On the enterprise side, data and access, cloud and IoT services segments all delivered healthy growth. Let's turn to page six for updates on our e-commerce business. Despite a COVID-driven high base for Taiwan's e-commerce players, momo's top line improved by 19% in 2022, outgrowing its peers by the wide margin. A higher e-commerce take rate also just demonstrated our increasing scale advantage.
EBITDA margins fell YoY, given the very tough base in 2021 when demand skyrocketed. Overall, e-commerce EBITDA still grew 10% YoY. On the logistics side, we have 54 warehouses at the end of year, 10 more than the year before. While total warehouse space rose by 16% YoY. The southern distribution center should be up and running by end of 2023, with the central distribution center to follow in a few years, expanding the coverage area of our rapid deliveries and raising the bar for competition. As for momo coin and its ecosystem, we will continue to focus on broadening its usability by onboarding group companies and popular third-party products and services. We will also introduce customer loyalty programs dedicated to our mobile bundle users to enhance stickiness and gain wallet share. Together, this will lead to further growth and a wider moat.
Let's take a look at our broadband business on the next page. In 4Q 2022, we continued to outperform our MSO peers in YoY trends of basic TV subscriptions and broadband service penetration. Steady demand for faster home broadband, as well as the success of our Double Play bundles, led to sequential increase in broadband subs and ARPU. Total broadband subscribers, including those on our Double Play bundles, who opted for speeds of 300 Mb or higher, rose by 79% YoY. As a result, broadband revenue grew by 10% YoY in the quarter. Let me pass the virtual mic over to our CFO, George Chang, for financial overview.
Thanks, Jamie. Good afternoon. Let's start with the performance by business. In 4Q 2022, consolidated revenue rose by 12% YoY as our three core engines all delivered year-over-year growth. Mobile service revenue grew YoY for seven quarters in a row, thanks to ARPU improvements amid continuous 5G conversion and benign 4G pricing. Telecom EBITDA saw a 3% YoY uptick in Q4 2022 as telecom service revenues YoY growth reached a seven-quarter high. Telecom D&A, depreciation amortization YoY growth decelerated to the lowest level since turning positive in 4Q 2020, causing telecom EBIT to grow 8% YoY for the quarter. momo's EBITDA YoY growth accelerated to 17% YoY in 4Q 2022, aided by higher take rate and operating leverage of its e-commerce business. Cable TV EBITDA was stable as broadband momentum compensated for pay TV decline. Let's go through result summary.
In 4Q 2022, consolidated operating income rose by 10% YoY, reflecting top line growth, accelerated EBITDA YoY growth in telecom and momo, along with muted depreciation amortization increase. For the full year 2022, consolidated revenue reached a historical high. Consolidated EBITDA also set an all-time high, growing 4% YoY and beating our guidance of 1%-3%, thanks to better-than-expected telecom performance. The YoY increase in non-operating losses mainly came from a tough base of disposal gain and the higher financing cost amid rising interest rates. Excluding the one-off tax benefit from the previous year, net income would have increased by 3.5% YoY in 2022. Let's move to balance sheet. On the asset side, receivables rose QoQ and YoY in 4Q 2022, owing to higher monthly fee contribution from our mobile bundle plans.
Inventories grew in a similar manner, driven by new iPhones and Google smartphones, accessories, as well as momo's business expansion. Long-term investment climbed YoY due to our ventures into cloud services, sharing economy, et c. As for liability, the YoY uptick in payables was attributable to momo's e-commerce business growth. Long-term borrowings due in one year swelled from a year ago. That said, we are in the process of issuing new straight bonds and will seek new funding facilities in order to lift the proportion of long-term borrowings. Benefiting from our EBITDA growth, net debt to EBITDA ratio decreased YoY and QoQ. Lastly, let's look at the cash flow. Thanks to improving EBITDA growth in telecom and e-commerce business, operating cash inflows increased by 9% YoY in 4Q 2022. Investing cash outflows saw an uptick in 4Q 2022 due to a high base in 5G government subsidies.
Excluding subsidies, investing cash outflow would have decreased by 9%. For the full year, cash earnings show steady YoY growth while operating cash flow declined as we made more payments for handsets and accessories. The spike in 2022 investment cash outflow reflected a TWD 2 billion increase in momo's CapEx payment and also an increase in long-term investment. Financing activity had more outflows in 2022 as we pay off some bank borrowings, in contrast to inflows from more borrowings a year ago. In addition, momo also increased its dividend payment in 2022. Full year free cash flow calculated on the pre-IFRS operating cash flow reached TWD 15.74 billion, translating into a free cash flow yield of 5.9%. Let me turn the presentation back to Jamie for event update and key message.
Thank you, George. Page 14 summarizes the awards and recognitions that we received during the quarter for your reference. Page 15. Earlier this year, the Board approved TWD 12.8 billion consolidated CapEx for 2023, where 5G CapEx will decline YoY, momo's CapEx will rise alongside e-commerce distribution center expansion, while cable TV's investment in broadband growth will continue. We note that momo's actual CapEx payment in 2023 should be similar to last year, despite a TWD 6.83 billion CapEx budget. Now let's turn to page 16 for board resolutions. This morning our Board resolved to issue an unsecured corporate straight bond with a total amount no larger than TWD 6.5 billion, and a tenure of no longer than 10 years as we aim to increase the proportion of our long-term borrowing that George just mentioned. Finally, please turn to page 17.
To wrap up our presentation, here's a key message we would like for you to take away with. In 2022, Taiwan Mobile delivered resilient results with best-in-class top-line performance and 5% operating income growth. Telecom free cash flow expanded alongside momo's rising profits and strong cash position. Looking into 2023, we expect revenue growth momentum similar to recent levels to trickle down to our consolidated EBITDA amid favorable market dynamics on the pre-merger basis. With that, we open the floor for questions. You're also welcome to send your questions via chat box on the webcast page. We will begin by addressing the telephone line questions before we move on to queries from the webpage. Operator, please go ahead.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the question and answer session will now begin. If anyone wishes to ask a question, please press star one on the telephone keypad. Our first question is coming from Neale Anderson with HSBC. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you for the presentation. Two questions, please. I think many of us on the line will be interested in getting your views on the merger decision by the NCC. Can you comment on that, and particularly the spectrum element of that? That's the first one. The second is on the 5G outlook. I see the trends continue to look favorable. You got churn coming down and increasing long-term contracts. Are you able to give any expectation, either in ARPU growth or revenue impacts of 5G through this year? The reason I'm asking is that in other markets, the benefit from 5G has tended to slow down a little bit as we reach the levels of penetration where Taiwan is now. But I'm thinking that because the 4G prices were lower, the positive benefits can continue.
Are you able to quantify that if you do agree with that assumption? Thank you.
Thank you, Neale. In terms of NCC's merger decision, like we expressed before the Lunar New Year, our Independent Board Directors all concluded that the decision is sort of borderline breaching their fiduciary duty per se. That is that. In terms of the spectrum, yes, if we do end up proceeding with the merger later to having to give back the spectrum, half of Taiwan Star's low-band spectrum by the end of next June would be quite cumbersome. It's not going to kill our business. In terms of 5G ARPU lift sustainability, like I said in the presentation, we're observing 24% ARPU lift. That is not too far from where we were a year ago. Like you said, 4G ARPU was low enough in Taiwan, so the dynamics here might be a bit different from other countries.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Just on the first question, is there any recourse that you have? Can you appeal that NCC decision or is that final, and it's kind of take it or leave it?
There is ways you can appeal that. The duration of that appeal sort of might take years. Proceed with the merger, we're going to do other things to make sure that we provide our service to the customers.
In terms of a timeline for your decision, I know the final approval, I think, is with the Fair Trade Commission, do you expect to decide in line with that, whether to go ahead or not?
If we do go ahead with that, the actual merger will most likely be Q3 or Q4. In terms of the actual deal itself, the two sides are still in negotiation, hopefully we will have some news to share very soon.
Understood. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Once again, if anyone wishes to ask a question, please press star one on the telephone keypad. Just to remind again, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one on the telephone touchpad. If anyone wishes to ask a question, please press star one on the telephone keypad.
Operator, if there's no questions from the telephone line, there's actually one question from the website, and we're going to proceed to address that. It's from a guest with no names. The question is: Loosely translated into English it will be: Taiwan Mobile and Taiwan Star merger, will it proceed according to the original terms, or will the two sides renegotiate new terms? In terms of spectrum return, what kind of plan we have? Also, in terms of spectrum return being pro bono, will we appeal?
[Non-English content] Operator, do we have any questions from the telephone side?
Sorry, Jamie, we don't have question at this point of time.
Okay. We have another question from [Soma, Kaz] on the webcast side. What's your December 2022 dividend outlook? Thank you. This will revert to George.
Hi, [Kaz]. I will probably say that on a standalone basis. First of all, it's a little bit too early to talk about dividend yet, right? Because we still need to get approval from the Board resolution, and it's not going to be at this Board meeting. Normally we don't talk about that until two, three months later. You can probably think that on a standalone basis, the full part figure will probably be similar to what we have been paying in the past. Again, the big "if" will be if we are going to proceed with the Taiwan Star merger. Please stay tuned on that.
Operator, do you have any more questions from the telephone side?
Sorry, Jamie. We don't have questions from the audio side.
Okay. From the website-
Sorry, Jamie.
Okay.
We do have one follow-up question from Neale with HSBC.
Okay. Neale, go ahead.
Neale, go ahead, please.
Thank you. Sorry, could you give an English translation of your response to the prior question?
It's basically the same thing I told you. It's basically the same question.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
I'm not missing anything then. Okay, thank you.
No, you're not missing anything.
Okay. All right. Thank you.
Sure. We have another question from the website. It's from Panjwani, Rajesh. If I pronounce your name incorrectly, please forgive me, from JP Morgan Asset Management. The question is, "Hi, can you please translate your previous answer to English, please?" Panjwani, the question is basically the same as Neale's, the answer is basically the same answer. I just used Mandarin to read it again. There's no new information that I provided to the website question one. If you do have more questions, feel free to either let the operator know or go to our webpage.
Thank you. Then maybe just a reminder again, if the audio parties wish to ask a question, please press star one on the telephone keypad. Sorry, Jamie.
There's one more question from a guest on the website. [Non-English content] It says, "When will the merger renegotiation produce the result?" Like we said, we're still renegotiating and hopefully we're going to have news to share pretty soon. Another guest asks on the website, "Will the two companies merge this year?" Basically the same question. Like I said, we're still negotiating. Hopefully we'll have news to share very soon.
Thank you. Just to remind again, if anyone wishes to ask a question, please press star one on the telephone touchpad.
Operator, it seems like there's no more questions from the website. If there's no more either from the audio side, I think we can call it a day.
Sorry, Jamie, we don't have questions at this point in time on the audio side.
Okay. I think we can wrap it up.
Thank you. Thank you management. Thank you for the conference.
All right. Thank you everyone for your time. We'll see you next time.
Thank you. The conference call has been concluded. Thank you for your participation.