CICT Mobile Communication Technology Co.,Ltd. (SH688387, stock price 17.00 yuan, market cap 58.119 billion yuan) released its 2025 annual report on the evening of April 24. The report reveals an awkward reality: this central state-owned enterprise, which bills itself as a leader in independent innovation in the mobile communications sector, remains mired in losses.
In 2025, CICT Mobile reported a net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies of -270 million yuan. Although the loss narrowed slightly compared to the previous year, this marks the fourth consecutive annual loss since the company went public on the STAR Market in September 2022. Taking a longer-term view, CICT Mobile has now recorded annual losses for eight straight years, starting from 2018.
As the industry transitions past the peak of 5G construction while 6G remains in development, a key question arises: how much longer must the "space-air-ground" integration narrative promoted by CICT Mobile be sustained?
CICT Mobile's controlling shareholder is China Information Communication Technology Group Co., Ltd. The company is primarily engaged in the sales of mobile communication network equipment, integrated mobile communication solutions, and network operation and maintenance services. In its 2025 annual report, the company describes itself as a "global leader in independent innovation in the mobile communications field, represented by 'space-air-ground' technologies."
However, this "leadership" status has not yet translated into profitability. In 2025, CICT Mobile achieved operating revenue of 6.145 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 5.33%. The net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was -270 million yuan, while the扣非 net profit attributable to shareholders plummeted to -407 million yuan.
The core issue behind the persistent losses is a mismatch between high-intensity R&D investment and revenue scale. The company stated that in 2025, it continued to focus on its main business of "space-air-ground" integrated mobile communications. For the full year 2025, the company's R&D expenditure reached a substantial 1.282 billion yuan, accounting for 20.86% of its operating revenue, an increase of 1.16 percentage points from the previous year. However, impacted by the ongoing decline in capital expenditure from domestic telecom operators, the company's revenue scale decreased year-on-year instead of growing. The company frankly admitted that its operating revenue and gross profit levels are still insufficient to cover R&D expenses, which is the direct cause of the losses.
Taking a longer-term perspective, from 2022 to 2025, the company's net profit attributable to the parent company was -674 million yuan, -357 million yuan, -279 million yuan, and -270 million yuan, respectively. Although the magnitude of the loss has narrowed each year, the turning point to profitability has yet to materialize.
Regarding the historical losses, CICT Mobile explained that during the 4G era, the company focused heavily on the R&D and industrialization of its independently innovated TDD technical standard. Although it maintained high R&D investment in the 5G era, factors such as operators initially adopting NSA (Non-Standalone) network deployment methods and intensified industry competition resulted in the company holding a relatively low market share for 5G system equipment. Consequently, the revenue and gross profit from its 5G-related business were unable to cover the R&D expenditures, significantly impacting its profitability.
Accompanying the years of losses, the company's financial pressure has continued to accumulate. As of the end of 2025, the undistributed profit in CICT Mobile's consolidated financial statements was -9.331 billion yuan, while its share capital stood at 3.419 billion yuan. This means the company's accumulated losses exceed one-third of its total share capital.
Beyond the profitability challenge, CICT Mobile also faces multiple operational pressures, including high accounts receivable and inventory impairment risks.
As of the end of 2025, the net amount of the company's accounts receivable (including contract assets) was 5.349 billion yuan, representing a significant 38.47% of its total assets. Compared to the company's 2025 revenue of 6.145 billion yuan, this ratio reaches approximately 87%, indicating that most of the revenue has not yet been converted into cash. "Although the company's clients are primarily large state-owned enterprises like telecom operators and China Tower, making bad debt unlikely, failure to collect receivables promptly could adversely affect the company's asset quality and financial condition," the report noted.
Simultaneously, the company's inventory scale is considerable. By the end of 2025, the book value of the company's inventory was 1.383 billion yuan, accounting for 9.95% of its total assets. The company stated that as 5G network construction advances towards 5G-Advanced, it maintains high production volume and inventory reserves. However, risks of inventory impairment would increase if market conditions change or products undergo upgrades.
Confronted with the slowing growth of the traditional communications equipment market, CICT Mobile is actively seeking new growth drivers. Satellite internet is one area where it places high hopes.
The annual report disclosed that CICT Mobile has achieved a new leap in the satellite internet sector, progressing from technological leadership to commercial deployment. It has comprehensively developed a series of products including satellite base stations, satellite phased array antennas, core networks, network management systems, specialized terminals, and instruments. The company claims to be "a key player in major domestic satellite internet projects, ranking first in terms of comprehensive market share for important customer payloads."
Nevertheless, the satellite internet business is still in its investment phase. During an investor relations activity towards the end of 2025, the company indicated that "the revenue from the satellite internet sector currently accounts for a relatively low proportion of the company's total operating revenue."
CICT Mobile also frankly acknowledged the risks in its report: "Satellite internet faces uncertainties related to rocket launch capacity, frequency and orbit coordination, and large-scale capital investment. If the network deployment progress or the formation of a commercial closed-loop falls short of expectations, it will impact investment returns and the pace of industrialization."
Looking at the performance for the first quarter of 2026, the company achieved operating revenue of 762 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 6.56%. The net profit attributable to the parent company was -128 million yuan, representing an 18.0% reduction in loss compared to the same period last year. While the trend of narrowing losses is emerging, achieving overall profitability remains a distant goal.
Regarding matters related to the 2025 annual report, attempts were made to contact CICT Mobile's securities department on April 25, 2026, but the call was not answered.
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