Sun Cellular confident of sustaining profitability

MANILA, Philippines - Sun Cellular, a unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is confident it would be able to sustain its profitability as it continues to target a 100-percent nationwide coverage by next year.

Sun Cellular president and chief executive officer Orlando Vea said in an interview with reporters that the company is bullish about its financial prospects after a strong first half performance.

“We are in the black for two quarters. On a first half basis, our result is positive,” Vea stressed.

He pointed out that the strong first half result was driven by higher margins as a result of lower operating costs as well as higher revenues by its wireless business particularly from postpaid subscribers as well as its broadband business.

“Synergies on cost as well as higher margins result to higher revenues,” Vea explained.

Latest data showed that the net service revenues of Sun Cellular grew 17 percent to P10.2 billion in the first half of the year from P8.7 billion in the same period last year on the back of increasing sales of postpaid subscriptions and positive consumer takeup on their new prepaid load variants.

The company also cited the increased demand for broadband products and the marked improvement of Sun Cellular’s network coverage powered by its synergy with PLDT.

Revenue growth for the company’s postpaid, prepaid, and broadband segments all posted double-digit growth rates, which combined led to Sun Cellular’s continuing to blaze the path for the local telecom industry.

Vea added that network improvements would continue as the company continued to focus more on enhancing network quality by achieving a 90-percent nationwide coverage by the end of the year and 100 percent by next year.

Since the start of the year, Sun Cellular has enhanced its coverage, with the highest marked improvement in Mindanao and Northern Luzon.

Last January, the company kicked off expansion efforts in Mindanao by enhancing signal strength in areas like Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, Basilan , Camiguin, Zamboanga, Tawi-Tawi, Dinagat Island, Compostela Valley, Sulu, parts of Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro and Davao Del Sur.