Hong Kong–based telecom and technology services provider HKBN has announced unaudited results for the twelve months ended 31 August 2026, highlighting a sharp jump in profitability and continued momentum in its core enterprise segment.
Revenue and Earnings • Total revenue rose 6% year-on-year (YoY) to HK$ 11.82 billion, with core service sales (excluding handsets and other products) up 8%. • Enterprise Solutions led growth, advancing 13% to HK$ 6.23 billion, while associated product sales gained 7% to HK$ 1.93 billion. Residential Solutions slipped 1% to HK$ 2.30 billion, and handset/other product sales fell 8% to HK$ 1.35 billion. • Group EBITDA improved 1% to HK$ 2.49 billion; stripping out salary and bonus adjustments, underlying growth was approximately 4%. • Net profit climbed 53% to HK$ 316.57 million, supported by a 22% drop in finance costs to HK$ 553.13 million after the early retirement of higher-cost banking facilities. • Adjusted free cash flow edged up 1% to HK$ 681.14 million despite a 36% rise in capital expenditure to HK$ 692.24 million and higher working-capital outflows.
Operational Metrics • Enterprise broadband subscriptions grew 2% to 109,000, with GigaFast customers surpassing 26,000—more than double the prior year. Commercial building coverage reached 8,320, up 1%. • Residential broadband users increased 2% to 928,000, while GigaFast residential lines expanded 40% to roughly 133,000. Average revenue per household ticked up to HK$ 218. Voice lines declined 8% to 266,000, and mobile subscriptions fell 12% to 159,000. • Total full-time headcount contracted 2% to 3,588.
Margin and Cost Dynamics Network costs and cost of sales expanded 9% in line with top-line growth, reaching HK$ 7.73 billion. Other operating expenses fell 2% to HK$ 3.08 billion, aided by the absence of the prior-year HK$ 73 million one-off related to a voluntary general cash offer. Interest and finance charges declined HK$ 233 million on lower HIBOR and tighter spreads; however, a HK$ 110 million write-off of unamortised fees for early debt retirement partially offset this benefit.
Balance Sheet and Liquidity At 31 August 2026, cash and equivalents stood at HK$ 1.28 billion against gross debt of HK$ 11.20 billion, yielding net debt of HK$ 9.92 billion. Net-debt-to-EBITDA improved to 4.4x from 4.7x, while average funding cost narrowed to 3.8% from 6.2%. Undrawn revolving credit lines totalled HK$ 1.60 billion, and average debt maturity extended to 4.2 years.
Dividend and Corporate Actions Given the transition of HKBN’s fiscal year-end from 31 August to 31 December, the Board has decided not to declare a second interim dividend. A final dividend, if any, will be considered after the 16-month financial period ending 31 December 2026. The company paid a first interim dividend of HK$ 0.155 per share during the review period, and settled the prior-year final dividend of HK$ 0.189 per share.
Strategic Progress and Outlook Under new majority ownership by China Mobile, HKBN advanced collaborations across market, network, product and safeguard initiatives. Key launches included the “HKBN AI+” enterprise platform and expansion of the “Fibre In, Copper Out” programme to accelerate migration to 2.5 Gbps fibre. Management plans further capital investment to widen network coverage, support AI-driven services, and deepen penetration in the Greater Bay Area, while continuing to grow Infinite-Play offerings into gerontechnology, insurance, healthcare and smart-living solutions.
Regulatory and Governance The company affirmed full compliance with Hong Kong’s Corporate Governance Code and reported no significant post-period events, acquisitions or disposals.
HKBN’s performance underscores the resilience of its diversified revenue streams and the early benefits from balance-sheet optimisation as it prepares for its new December fiscal year-end.
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