PLDT Incorporated, the country’s leading broadband service provider reached P9.3 billion core net income for the first three months of 2024, an increase of eight percent or P700 million from the same period last year.
In a media briefing last Thursday, May 9, the telecommunication firm attributed the positive report due to higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization or EBITDA partly negated by an increase in financing costs and tax provisions.
“We continue to squeeze growth out of an industry that seems bound by gravity. That said, our first quarter results are encouraging. We are determined to break past this gravitational hold,” Manuel V Pangilinan, PLDT and Smart Chairman and CEO said.
Based on the company’s latest data, service revenues boosted the company’s top line, rising 5 percent to P52.2 billion from P49.73 billion in the previous year and accounting for 96.3 percent of total revenues at that time. Non-service revenues, on the other hand, accounted for the remaining 3.7 percent portion, or P2.03 billion.
According to PLDT, the company’s individual cellular division generated P21.1 billion in service revenues, while mobile data revenues came to P18.8 billion. With an average data consumption per subscriber of 11.6 gigabytes, the number of active data users has increased to 39.4 million.
Revenues from PLDT Home’s service increased further, showing a 7 percent or P0.9 increase in the first quarter of 2024, rising to P13.7 billion.
As of March 2024, around 3.2 million fiber users are registered as Fiber coverage has expanded to 19,300 barangays, with fiber presence at 70%.
The fiber churn rate is being lowered with continued emphasis on service quality. which at the end of March was 1.82%. Additionally, PLDT keeps using both of its fiber as well as fixed wireless technologies to cater to various market niches, reviving the FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) network expansion and the installation of next-generation fiber technology to provide the first Always-On Broadband service in the industry along with gigabit fiber.
Currently, the company’s wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. has also recorded a total of 59 million mobile subscribers as of end-March.
PLDT’s telco core income which excludes the impact of asset sale and Maya Innovations also reached P9.32 billion, which is 7.9% more than it was in the first quarter of last year.
The top digital Lender in the Philippines, Maya Bank, Inc. is expecting to launch more loan and investment products this year to help boost the company’s goal to serve the whole Filipinos inline with its digital inclusion roadmap.
“Maya continues to solidify its status as the Philippines’ payment backbone by enabling thousands of large, small, and micro businesses to accept digital payments,” PLDT said.
Currently, Pangilinan’s outlook for this year is to attain the strategic revenues to achieve a higher profit for all of its digital business.
“In 2024, we expect our Consolidated Service Revenues and EBITDA to grow in the mid-single digit range, driven by robust increases in data and broadband revenue streams of the various business segments and supported by top-line growth and tight cost management. Our guidance for our Telco Core Income is north of ₱35.0 billion,” Pangilinan concluded.
PLDT is the only Philippine company shortlisted and acknowledged at the prestigious World Procurement Awards 2024 recognizing procurement excellence.
It was nominated under the Ivalua Procurement Excellence Award category, which recognizes organizations and teams that have successfully delivered tangible and quantifiable results through advanced approaches to spend management.
PLDT and Smart were also named the top Philippine telcos at the 11th Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards. The firm received 12 Stevie Awards®—three golds, six silvers, and three bronze awards—for innovation in the areas of content marketing, corporate social responsibility, customer service, diversity and inclusion, multi- and social media, product development, and special events. DEF
