HKBN (1310) H2 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY26 revenue was HK$11,820.9m, up 6.2% YoY; net profit rose 53% to HK$316.6m.

• EBITDA was HK$2,487m, up 1.5%; growth was 4.1% excluding annual salary review and discretionary bonus costs.

• Adjusted free cash flow rose 1% to HK$681m, supported by lower net interest paid and higher EBITDA, partly offset by higher CapEx and working-capital outflow.

• Growth priorities included high-speed network upgrades, AI computing infrastructure and enterprise solutions.

Financial highlights

• Operating expenses fell 1.5% to HK$3,077m; network costs and cost of sales rose 9% to HK$7,726m.

• CapEx increased 35.6% to HK$692m, focused on network upgrades and AI computing interconnect infrastructure.

• Finance costs declined 22% to HK$553m; early retirement of banking facilities resulted in a HK$128.7m loss.

• Profit before tax rose to HK$479.3m from HK$215.8m; basic and diluted EPS were both 21.4 cents.

Outlook and guidance

• Dividend policy is to distribute at least 75% of adjusted free cash flow annually, with two payouts each year.

• Investment priorities include network coverage, AI-driven transformation and Northern Metropolis deployment; no financial targets were stated.

• Plans include migration from copper to 2.5Gbps fibre, broader GigaFast adoption, and enterprise AI, cloud and cybersecurity solutions.

• AI platform 2.0 is planned to expand capacity; data-center investment decisions depend on required returns and payback.