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.