China Telecom Q2 net profit down 30 pct on year

BEIJING Aug 27 (Reuters) - China Telecom Corp (0728.HK), the country's largest fixed-line carrier, said on Thursday that its quarterly profit fell 30 percent to 4.3 billion yuan ($629.6 million) because of a weaker economy, a loss of fixed-line customers and costs associated with its 3G buildout weighed.

The quarterly results compared with a profit of 6.16 billion yuan a year earlier and a 3.44 billion yuan consensus forecast, calculated by Reuters from a poll of eight analysts.

Net profit for the first half was 9.0 billion yuan, compared with Reuters' 8.14 billion yuan mean forecast, and a profit of 12.6 billion yuan a year earlier.

The results come after rival China Mobile (0941.HK), the world's largest mobile carrier, reported disappointing earnings last week. [ID:nPEK58027] ($=6.83 yuan) (Reporting by Kirby Chien; Editing by Chris Lewis)