CHINA Unicom, the nation’s second-largest mobile phone company, yesterday posted first-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates on weaker-than-expected subscriber additions to its high-speed service.
　　Net income rose to 1 billion yuan (US$159 million), from a restated 145 million yuan a year earlier, the Beijing-based telco said in a statement. That compared with the 1.1 billion yuan median of six analysts’ estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
　　China Unicom lost the advantage of being the only carrier on the Chinese mainland to offer Apple’s iPhone with a service contract when China Telecom began sales of the device on March 9.
　　China Unicom added 8.84 million users to its 3G network in the first quarter, which Macquarie Group Ltd analyst Lisa Soh called "a weak number."
　　Revenue rose 25 percent to 61.2 billion yuan in the first quarter.
　　China Unicom’s 3G subscribers totaled 48.9 million at the end of March. The company lagged behind China Mobile’s 59.6 million 3G users, according to data the companies released this month.
　　快讯：中国联通作为中国第二大的手机运营商，近日公布了其2012年第一季度财报。财报显示，联通净利润为10亿元，较去年同期的1.45亿大幅增长594%。联通在3G市场上表现出色，但是从3月9日中国电信开始销售苹果iPhone手机开始，联通失去了其内地唯一苹果手机服务商的优势，不过仍在第一季度增加了884万的3G用户。截止3月底，联通共有3G签约用户4890万，而其老对手中国移动则拥有5960万3G用户。