Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Taiwan Mobile's Conference Call, and our Chairperson is Mr. Jamie Lin. Mr. Lin, please begin the call, and I'll be standing by for the question and answer session.
Thank you so much, operator. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Taiwan Mobile's Second Quarter 2025 Results Conference Call. Before I start our presentation, please do refer to our safe harbor notice on this page. Now, let's take a look at our business overview. Please turn to page four for highlights of the quarter. In second quarter 2025, mobile and home broadband are two main growth engines, as well as new tech, new Telco+Tech businesses. A third growth engine we're introducing this time delivered healthy top-line growth. In terms of profitability, telecom EBIT, which includes contributions from the new Telco+Tech segment that I just mentioned, rose 13% year-over-year , driven mainly by cost savings from network consolidation completed in third quarter last year. As a result, consolidated operating income grew by 4% YoY, while net income increased by 2% YoY.
Now, let's take a closer look at our mobile business on the next page. Our sustainable growth foundation strategy continues to underpin the solid growth of our core telecom business through exclusive customer-focused offerings. In 2Q 2025, smartphone RPU rose by 2% year-over-year , and monthly churn rate of post-pay users dropped to a record low of 0.59%. 5G penetration reached 42.5%, up 4 percentage points YoY, supported by ongoing upselling efforts through our unique bundles. Contract renewals saw a 6% uplift in monthly fees, while 4G to 5G conversions continue to deliver a 45% uplift. This fueled a 10% YoY growth in 5G revenues and lifted its contribution to mobile service revenues to 66%. The mobile market remained rational in 2Q, with total NP volume down 24% YoY, reflecting continued shift from price competition to value competition for the core telecom business since the consolidation.
In the first half of this year, we rolled out several innovative unique bundles, including momo bile Plus, which is [Foreign language] in Mandarin, that combines momo's mo Plus annual membership with Taiwan Mobile's 5G unlimited data services, a free one-year Perplexity Pro subscription for Taiwan Mobile's post-pay users on NTD 599 or above three plans, and an all-in-one streaming package featuring Netflix, Max, and MyVideo offered at highly competitive price points. These bundles are designed to strengthen stickiness and drive upselling via unique customer value. Next, let's turn to page six for updates on our home broadband business. Our broadband business sustained its healthy momentum, delivering a 6% YoY revenue growth in 2Q 2025, driven by a 4% increase in subscribers and 2% uptake in RPU. This reflects sustained demand for high-speed connectivity, especially given our competitive pricing.
For example, our 1 Gb plan offers consumers 23% - 42% savings compared to the market leader. Growth was further supported by the traction in our bundled offerings, which cover cable TV, broadband, mobile, and OTT content, including MyVideo, Disney+, Max, Netflix, and YouTube Premium. Notably, the number of broadband subscribers on speeds of 300 Mb or higher, including double play bundled users, grew by 32% YoY during the quarter, which is over 2x the market leader's growth rate in this segment. Overall, EBITDA rose by 4% YoY as the strength of our broadband business more than offset softness in the cable TV segment. Next, let's take a look at our new Telco+Tech businesses on the next page.
Building on our core telecom gifts, including AI, cybersecurity, network infrastructure, 10 million users, building systems, trusted brand data, and omnichannel reach, we developed a gifts as a service platform, what we call GaaS, that powers both our enterprise clients and also our first-party tech ventures. We call this segment new Telco+Tech businesses, which captures all of our Telco+Tech businesses except for momo. Our e-commerce services for brands business, for example, harnesses our customer base and strong presence in last-mile retail channels, including momo and MyPhone stores, to operate as an OMO enabler for top-tier brands, including Philips, Royal Canin, and Tefal. GMV grew by 25% quarter-over-quarter in 2Q 2025 for e-commerce services for brands as we broaden retail channel coverage and client acquisition. We aim to deepen these partnerships and scale the platform's capability to fuel brand digitalization and growth.
On the other hand, on May 22nd this year, we launched the crypto exchange platform TWEX in response to growing interest in virtual assets, both globally and locally. While participation in Taiwan remains relatively low at around 5% of the population, we see significant market potential, especially around users seeking a secure, trusted, and user-friendly platform. Lastly, our direct carrier billing and gaming businesses continue to deliver healthy revenue growth. We've been actively expanding our service portfolio to drive recurring usage and deepen integration across more digital platforms. This steady progress reflects the rising adoption of carrier-based payments across our user base. Now, let's take a look at our momo business on the next page. Despite the muted retail environment and broader economic uncertainty weighing on momo's top-line performance, customer engagement remained solid in 2Q 2025.
Active users grew by 5.1% year-over-year , and GMV continued to expand, driven by the scaling of its third-party business, mo-shop+ . While momo's take rate was largely stable YoY , its EBITDA margin declined due to increased investments in marketing technology and new growth initiatives, including mo-shop+ , its retail media network business, and momo Ads. As mentioned earlier, we partnered with momo to launch the momo bile Plus or [Foreign language] plan in May, which bundles unlimited 5G data with mo Plus membership for NTD 1,399 per month. The membership is valued at NTD 2,399 per year, while purchased separately, the plan offers up to 8% moC oin rewards and a suite of exclusive perks, leveraging group-wide synergies to differentiate Taiwan Mobile from peers and enable user stickiness.
Since launch, the plan has driven an 8% QoQ increase in adoption of the NTD 1,399 plan under the momobile lineup, contributing to RPU growth for Taiwan Mobile. Now, let me pass the virtual mic over to our CFO, George Chang, for a financial overview.
Thank you, Jamie. Good afternoon. Let's start with the performance by business. In 2Q 2025, telecom delivered 3% YoY revenue growth and accounted for 44% of consolidated revenue. As for profitability, telecom EBITDA also grew by 3% YoY and contributed 81% of the consolidated EBITDA for the quarter. The YoY increase was more pronounced on the pre-IFRS 15 basis, driven by rationalization of marketing expenses during the quarter. Hindered by lower revenue and margins, momo's EBITDA and net profit contribution fell to 11% and 9% respectively in 2Q 2025. Its net income declined by 10% YoY in the first half of 2025, partly offset by tax credit associated with its southern distribution center. Let's go to a results summary. 2Q 2025 consolidated operating income grew by 4% YoY, as a solid 13% growth in our telecom EBIT helped offset subdued performance at momo.
The YoY and QoQ increase in non-operating expenses were mainly driven by translation losses in our U.S. dollar denominated long-term investments amid the sharp appreciation of the NT dollar during the quarter. For the first half of the year, operating income went up by 7% YoY, is right up for flattish revenues thanks to network consolidation synergies. On the non-operating side, higher interest expenses rose as we refinanced around 70% of the NTD 88 million YoY increase was non-cash, accrued for the convertible bonds issued early this year. Net expenses from equity income, investment valuation, and FX translation accounted for just 1.3% of our pre-tax income. Supported by tax credit recognized in the first half, net income and EPS grew 12% YoY. Let's move on to the balance sheet.
The YoY decline in cash balance was primarily attributed to momo's use of internally generated cash flow to fund capital expenditure and dividend payment while maintaining a debt-free position. Long-term investment increased YoY, mainly due to strategic investment in enterprise IT service provider Systex in Q3 2024. Long-term contract assets also rose YoY, driven by continued growth in mobile bundle plans aimed at increasing mobile RPU through contract renewals. Gross debt decreased by NTD 3 billion year-over-year , reflecting our disciplined capital allocation and healthy cash flow generation. Shareholders' equity declined QoQ following AGM's approval of dividends, which became a dividend payable on the liabilities. The YoY increase in dividend payable was mainly due to Taiwan Mobile raising its DPS to NTD 4.5 from NTD 4.3. Supported by healthy cash flow, our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio declined both YoY and QoQ, while solid profitability kept ROE steady at 15%.
Lastly, let's look at the cash flow on the next slide. Both telecom and e-commerce businesses recorded YoY increase in operating cash flow during the quarter. Operating cash flow rose by 4% YoY, outpacing EBITDA growth, supported by one, favorable working capital change from sustained sales of the iPhone 16 series, and two, lower tax payments for momo due to the aforementioned tax credits. Investing cash outflow tapered off in 2Q 2025, as spending on mobile infrastructure returned to a more moderate level following elevated investments in the previous quarter. Backed by healthy free cash flow generation, we repaid bonds payable and long-term bank loans in the quarter, leading to a YoY increase in financing cash outflow.
With lower cash CapEx quarter -over- quarter and year-over-year , pre-IFRS 16 free cash flow for 2Q 2025 rose by 17% YoY to NTD 5.26 billion, translating into an annualized free cash flow yield of 6%. Let me turn the presentation back to Jamie for an event update and key message.
Thank you, George. On page 15, we're honored to share that Taiwan Mobile ranked number one across all seven categories of the 2025 Asia ex-Japan Executive Team survey by Extel, formerly known as Institutional Investor. These include our Best CEO, CFO, IR Professional, IR Team, IR Program, ESG, and Company Board, both in overall Asia and the rest of Asia telecom rankings. We are especially proud to be the only telecom company in Taiwan named the Most Honored Company for three consecutive years, and this year we also achieved the highest overall score among all Taiwanese companies. On behalf of the leadership team, I want to thank you for your trust and recognition. This honor will for sure strengthen our resolve to keep raising the bar in transparency, governance, and long-term value creation. Thank you very much.
In addition, during the quarter, Taiwan Mobile earned multiple recognitions across governance, innovation, and network reach excellence, reflecting our ongoing efforts to lead in performance, accountability, and digital innovation. We have summarized these results on the slide for your reference. Finally, on page 16, to wrap up our presentation for today, here's the key message we'd like for you to take away with. Taiwan Mobile is committed to a clear three-part strategy designed to drive sustained growth and enhanced free cash flow. We are fortifying our telco core while aggressively expanding our Telco+ services and Telco+Tech businesses. Our recent initiatives are not just isolated projects; they are a direct reflection of the strategy in action. Our exclusive OTT bundles are effectively lifting customer spending and deepening engagement. The launch of TWEX firmly positions us at the forefront of the Web3 space.
Our new AI DC is a critical foundational step in our artificial intelligence roadmap. These efforts are integral to our long-term vision. We have deep confidence in our fundamentals and believe our strategic execution will continue to create significant value for our shareholders. All right, with that, let's open the floor for questions. If you're participating online, you're more than welcome to send your questions via the chat box, and we will begin by addressing the telephone line inquiries before moving on to the web. Operator, please go ahead.
Thank you, Mr. Lin. Ladies and gentlemen, the question and answer session with us begins. If anyone wishes to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. Our first question is coming from Shagun with JP Morgan, and please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon, management. Thank you very much for the presentation and the opportunity to ask questions. I actually have three separate questions, so maybe let me just take them one by one. Firstly, I appreciate your ending message on how Taiwan Mobile is trying to fortify the telco core as well as expanding Telco+ and Telco+Tech businesses, but I just want to understand a little bit more on how do you actually balance on your incremental investment and operational focus on telco and also non-telco business. Any further breakdown or elaboration would be appreciated. Thank you.
Thank you. Shagun, do you want to finish all of your three questions before we answer?
Yeah, sure. All right. My second question is actually more of like a follow-up to my first question. You have been expanding your Telco+ business portfolio. I think I'm just wondering, going forward, what will be our focus? Are we going to continue enriching the portfolio by opening up more business lines, or is there any criteria that we'll use to, let's say, double down on certain areas? If so, what are the criteria? Is there any KPIs that we're looking at? Lastly, my last question will be, I just want to understand a little bit more from the management, what would be the roadmap for the second half of this year for Taiwan Mobile to achieve its FY 2025 guidance? Thank you.
Thank you. In terms of the first question in balancing investments, like George mentioned during the financial overview section, our CapEx on network is tapering off post-network consolidation, and we do have some extra liquidity to invest in growth strategies. This is also related to your second question. In terms of our Telco+Tech ventures, we're taking bullets before cannonball approach, meaning that we would launch MVPs, and only when we see there's a positive flywheel will we put in sizable capital to really grow the business. Right now, most of the Telco+Tech businesses, the capital requirement is really minimum. That's that. For example, our game publishing business, really, it's profitable from year one and really didn't take a lot of CapEx. That's one of the examples.
In terms of roadmap for the second half, we will continue to enjoy the benefit of synergies from consolidation, network consolidation. That's number one. Number two, our upselling of both existing Taiwan Mobile customers and Taiwan Star customers are going quite well. Lastly, a few of our, like we discussed today, our Telco+Tech , new Telco+Tech businesses, the growth is accelerating, and we're expecting for a few of them to be contributing meaningfully in the bottom half. I hope that those answer your question.
Yes, thank you. Can I just have a very quick follow-up?
Of course.
You mentioned cost synergy. Is it possible for you to quantify how much synergy that we have left from the consolidation?
It's hard to give an exact number at this point. We'll have to get back to you on that.
Sure, no problem. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad.
Operator, if we don't have any questions on the telephone line so far, we do have one question from the online chat box, and we can address that first.
Sorry, Mr. Lin, we don't have questions from the audio side at this point in time.
Okay, so we'll address the online, the question asked by Tom Bonds from Morgan Stanley, saying, "Congrats on the results. What is our current progress in converting the users we acquired from the merger, and what is the uplift we're seeing from those conversions?" Thank you, Tom, for the question. Actually, we are doing even better than we expected in terms of converting the users that we acquired from the merger. Like I talked about, the ARPU lift, overall weighted average of ARPU lift is 6% during contract renewals this quarter, and we are actually seeing a higher lift from sort of ex-Taiwan Star users than original Taiwan Mobile users because they started with the lower ARPU. We are actually doing quite well in terms of upselling the original Taiwan Star users.
Like we talked about, our 4G to 5G uplift from contract renewals has stayed quite stable at around 45%, which is sort of industry-leading. That is also because of the value, the appeal of our unique bundles, and we think that the unique bundles are also very attractive in terms of enticing the ex-Taiwan Star users to sort of pick a higher rate plan when they renew their contracts. I hope those added colors answer your question.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. Excuse me, Mr. Lin, we don't have questions from the audio side at this point of time.
Thank you. We do have one more question from Kieron Poon, saying, "From Aberdeen Investments, Kieron Poon, may I understand the coming dividend policy since our free cash flow is getting stronger? Any guidance or staff cost ratio?
Thank you, Kieron, and this is George. In terms of dividend policy, again, it's a little bit too early to talk about next year's board decision. Again, this year, as you have already seen, the payout has been, the payout is basically 100%, right? Actually, more than that. You can probably follow this year's as a benchmark to what we are going to do for next year. At least that's probably what we will be proposing.
In terms of our staff cost ratio, we are not expecting it to go up. Like we have been publicly talking about, we are on this three-year journey of AI upgrade to our talent base, and we are transforming everybody to what we call Superman, which is masters in AI and AI tools. We do expect our unit productivity to go significantly up during the process, so that is why we're not expecting our staff cost ratio to go up. Hope that answers your question, Kieron.
Just to remind everyone, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad.
Sorry, Mr. Lin, we don't have questions at this point in time.
Great. We also are not receiving any new questions from the online box, so I guess we can call it a day. I do want to wish all of the fathers online with us a happy Father's Day, and we look forward to seeing you at our next quarterly conference call.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Lin. Thank you, everyone. The conference call has been concluded. Thank you for your participation.