Sun Cellular subscribers surpass 16 million

MANILA, Philippines - Sun Cellular, the mobile telephony service brand of the Gokongwei group, announced yesterday that its subscriber base has already exceeded 16 million, of which over one million are postpaid subscribers.

“The latest figures clearly show that Sun Cellular is number one in terms of number of postpaid subscribers. Last September, Sun exceeded the one million mark for postpaid and growing. This was the first time ever that a local carrier attained this magic number,” Digitel Mobile Philippines senior vice president Bill Pamintuan said.

Sun’s prepaid subscribers’ number meanwhile, has reached more than 15 million, he added.

Pamintuan explained that Sun’s lead in the postpaid market is sustainable, as they are getting seven out of every 10 new postpaid subscribers.

He attributed this to Sun’s ability to offer at the very least the same quality service as other carriers “since we have the latest network infrastructure, and nationwide coverage.”

Another reason for Sun’s lead in the postpaid segment, Pamintuan pointed out, is that subscribers can save on average 50 percent of their costs.

He also noted that Sun offers true unlimited call and text. “Sun’s ‘unli’ has been in the market since 2004. It is a permanent product where a subscriber gets a free phone, and can call and text the whole day while paying only P350 per month,” he pointed out.

Pamintuan also stressed that while others claim they are number one in terms of revenues, Sun gives back to its subscribers in terms of huge savings in their communications costs.

“Sun is no different from its sister company, Cebu Pacific, which offers lower fares and brand-new aircraft, and transports its passengers to their destination on time; or Go-Hotels which offers rooms at rates as low as P388 per day. We deliver the same quality products and services at best prices,” he added.

Digitel Mobile parent Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc. (Digitel) posted a P145.4 million net income during the first six months of this year, a complete turnaround from the P638 million loss suffered in the same period last year, with the wireless communication and wireline data businesses leading the company’s performance.

The wireless communication business and wireline data communication services business generated a net income of P506.38 million and P81.7 million during the January to June 2010 period, respectively, which was more than enough to offset the P442.7 million net loss suffered by the wireline voice communication services business.

For the second quarter of 2010, Digitel posted a P188.6 million loss compared with a P351.4 million loss in the same period last year.

Service and non-service revenues for the period totaled PP4.07 billion, higher than last year’s P3.48 billion. Service revenue was higher at P4.01 billion compared with P3.45 billion.

During the first half of last year, the wireless communication services group posted a net income of P196.7 million while the wireline voice communication group suffered a loss of P885.4 million. The wireline data group generated P50.6 million last year.

Service and non-service revenues during the January to June 2010 period reached P7.97 billion, up P19 percent from last year’s P6.69 billion, driven mainly by the 30.6 percent growth in the wireless segment.

Wireless communication services contributing P6.24 billion (as against P4.78 billion last year), wireline voice P1.49 billion (1.7 billion), and wireline data P238.5 million (P205.5 million net income in the same period last year).

Earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the group during the period was at P2.75 billion, 28.9 percent higher compared with P2.13 billion in the same period last year.