Globe Telecom of the Philippines has reported that net income for the three months ended 31 March 2022 surged 86% to PHP13.66 billion (USD260.1 million) from PHP7.34 billion in the corresponding period of 2021, as a decline in non-operating charges fully offset the increase in depreciation expenses and the telco benefited from the net gain of PHP8.5 billion from the partial sale of its data centre business. Globe closed the January-March trimester with ‘record’ consolidated service revenues of PHP39.16 billion, compared to PHP37.81 billion in 1Q21, fuelled by ‘gains from data related products and services as internet use remained an essential service for learning, e-commerce, telecommuting and entertainment’. The telco noted that total data revenues accounted for 81% of total service revenues, up from 79% in the year-ago quarter. EBITDA, meanwhile, rose by 8% year-on-year to PHP19.68 billion, although core net income, which excludes the impact of non-recurring charges and foreign exchange and mark-to-market charges, dropped 31% to PHP5.11 billion from PHP7.44 billion in the first quarter of 2021.
Consolidated operating revenues were also up, 2% on an annualised basis at PHP43.56 billion underpinned by its mobile business which contributed roughly 69% of total service revenues (PHP26.89 billion), due mostly to the pre-paid brands, as Globe closed out 31 March 2022 with 87.4 million subscriptions on its books, 10% higher y-o-y. By contrast, the company’s Home broadband business, booked a 4% y-o-y decline with revenues of PHP7.03 billion, attributed to ‘the continued transition and migration of broadband subscriber base, particularly Home Prepaid WiFi subscribers, to Fiber’. At the end of the quarter under review, Globe’s total home broadband subscription count stood at 3.5 million, down 15% when compared to 1Q21.
Finally, total cash capital expenditures as of end-March 2022 reached PHP21.0 billion, 10% higher than for the same period of 2021, around 82% of which was spent on data network builds ‘to help boost mobile and internet experiences for a greater number of Filipinos’. The company has earmarked PHP89 billion for CAPEX this year.