China Tower Steadily Implements "One Core and Two Wings" Strategy, Net Profit Maintains Rapid Growth; Dividend Payout Ratio Rises Further to 72.0%.

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 2 March 2023 - The world's largest telecommunications infrastructure service provider China Tower Corporation Limited ("China Tower", or the "Company") (Stock Code: 0788.HK) is pleased to announce its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2022. Performance Highlights

RMB Million	2022	2021	Change
Operating revenue	92,170	86,585	6.5%
EBITDA	62,844	63,017	-0.3%
Profit attributable to owners of the Company	8,787	7,329	19.9%
Basic earnings per share (RMB yuan)	0.0503	0.0419	20.0%
Key operating data
Number of tower sites (thousand)	2,055	2,038	0.8%
Number of tower tenants (thousand)	3,583	3,459	3.6%
Tenancy ratio (tenants / tower site)	1.74	1.70	2.4%

Our operating revenue grew steadily by 6.5% year-on-year, reaching RMB92,170 million in 2022. EBITDA[1] reached RMB62,844 million, with an EBITDA margin[2] of 68.2%. Profit attributable to owners of the Company was RMB8,787 million, with a year-on-year growth of 19.9%. Our net profit margin was 9.5%, showing a continued improvement in profitability. Our cash flow remained robust, with net cash generated from operating activities for 2022 reaching RMB65,134 million. Capital expenditures stood at RMB26,207 million, while free cash flow[3] reached RMB38,927 million, or growth of 10.2% year-on-year. Our financial position remained healthy. As of 31 December 2022, total assets reached RMB305,560 million, interest-bearing liabilities were RMB79,119 million and our gearing ratio[4] was 27.7%, a decrease of 5.7 percentage points from the year before. Shareholder returns are one of our priorities. After considering our profitability, cash flow, and future development needs, the board of directors of the Company (the "Board") has recommended a final dividend of RMB0.03232 per share (pre-tax) for the year ended 31 December 2022, equivalent to a payout ratio of 72% of our annual distributable net profit. Driven by the "5G + DAS" dual growth engines, TSP business grew steadily We capitalized on the increasing penetration of 5G network coverage by reinforcing our advantages in resource coordination and sharing and professional management to streamline our construction and service models. This has enabled us to address our customers' network construction needs in an intensive and effective manner. Our TSP business revenue reached RMB83,031 million in 2022, an increase of 3.5% year-on-year. Tower business. We advocated for the inclusion of 5G base-station sites in development planning and played an active role in setting the wireless communications specifications for buildings. Complying with these specifications, we have been included in the administrative approval process for new construction projects, further strengthening our ability to coordinate and share resources. We launched innovative low-cost construction solutions to sharpen our capability in providing integrated wireless communications coverage solutions. A higher level of resource sharing enabled us to comprehensively satisfy customer demand for 5G construction. We completed approximately 745,000 5G base-stations during the year, of which more than 96% were delivered through sharing existing resources. In addition, we focused our efforts on tackling difficult sites and continued to enhance our service quality. Alongside an improving capability in site maintenance, customer satisfaction grew. In 2022, our Tower business generated revenue of RMB77,204 million, or year-on-year growth of 1.8%. As of 31 December 2022, we managed 2.055 million tower sites, representing a net increase of 17,000 sites from the end of 2021. The number of TSP tenants reached 3.362 million, an increase of 102,000 from the end of 2021, and the TSP tenancy ratio also increased from 1.60 to 1.65 over the same period of last year, showing a continuous increase in the level of site co-location. DAS business. We focused on providing 5G coverage for key scenarios and key sectors including education, cultural tourism, transportation and healthcare, with an integrated approach to coordinating resources and demands. Playing an important role in coordinating site entry and construction, we were able to take up all DAS construction demand for key venues, scenarios and sectors, providing customers with differentiated and diversified indoor coverage solutions. In addition, we stepped up innovation to develop sharable DAS products and solutions. We enhanced our professional capabilities to optimize our advantages in providing low-cost and green and low-carbon DAS solutions, complemented by our quality services, driving accelerated...