PLDT likely to up CAPEX in 2015, Pangilinan says

The chairman of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Manuel V Pangilinan, says his firm is increasing its CAPEX expenditure for cellular and broadband this year, noting that the planned spend will most likely be higher than the PHP34.5 billion (USD783 million) it spent last year. Pangilinan said of the proposed spend: ‘It will be across the board. Obviously the greater percentage will go to cellular sites but I think fixed line will also get some amount, and the internet will have some investments, and IT as well.’ The PLDT head confirmed that competition in the Philippines is intensifying and that the battle has shifted from SMS and voice traffic to mobile data services. The group, which is part-owned by Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co and Japan’s NTT group, reported a 14% year-on-year drop in core net income in Q3 2014, to PHP7.9 billion, which brought net profit for the first nine months of the year down 3% to PHP27.96 billion. Revenues came in at PHP127.27 billion in 9M14, up 2.2% y-o-y, although top line growth slowed to 0.6% in 3Q14 because of lower wireless voice (down 3%) and SMS revenues (down 12%). Non-SMS data revenues remain strong, however, up 16% in 9M14 and 15% in 3Q14, boosted by higher mobile internet, wireless broadband and fixed line data revenues.