Ayala-led Globe Telecom said first quarter earnings plunged by 47 percent to P7.3 billion due to absence of one-time gain.
Excluding the one-time gain, normalized net income would have been flat year-on-year at P5.1 billion.
Despite macroeconomic headwinds, Globe closed the quarter with consolidated service revenues of P40 billion, up 2 percent from last year.
Revenues from the mobile business were flat at P27.1 billion, while corporate data grew revenues by 15 percent to P4.5 billion. The Home Broadband business chalked up P6.5 billion in revenues, down from P7 billion a year ago.
Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu, however, remains upbeat about the growth prospects of the company’s digital solutions platforms.
“We are encouraged by the results in the first three months of the year with healthy topline and EBITDA growth amidst high inflation, interest rates and other economic challenges. Our mobile business remains fundamentally strong given the success of the programs that we have implemented empowering our customers to thrive in today’s fast-paced digital landscape,” said Cu.
“We believe that we are well-positioned to sustain this business momentum, and unlock new areas of growth as we strive to future-proof our network, provide better customer experience, and continue with various digital innovations to achieve a better life for our fellow Filipinos,” he added.
Globe has set a capital expenditure budget of about $1.3 billion this year, a reduction of over 30 percent from the 2022 record CAPEX spending as the company shifts focus to capital efficiency and optimization.
For 2024, the company aims to further drop its CAPEX spending to $1 billion as part of its efforts to optimize the existing infrastructure and refocus capital deployment.
