Globe net income up 46% to P34.6 billion in 2022

MANILA, Philippines — Globe Telecom Inc.’s net earnings rose by nearly half last year, driven by one-time net gains from partial sale of its data center business and the sale and leaseback of its tower assets.

Globe said net income for 2022 reached P34.6 billion, up by 46 percent from P23.7 billion a year earlier.

Excluding the one-time gains, Globe’s normalized net income would have been P20 billion, 13 percent higher year-on-year.

However, core net income, which excludes the impact of non-recurring charges and foreign exchange and mark-to-market charges, fell by 10 percent to P19.2 billion last year from P21.2 billion in 2021.

“Despite 2022 being a challenging year marked by inflationary pressures, high interest rates and weakened consumer confidence, Globe once again showed resilience,” Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said.

“We are happy that the Globe Group closed the year with strong topline and EBITDA growth,” he said.

Full year 2022 consolidated EBITDA reached a record high P79.1 billion, six percent higher year-on-year.

The Ayala-led telco also closed the year with all-time high consolidated service revenues of P158 billion, up four percent from P152 billion the previous year.

The topline expansion was driven by corporate data and mobile services, which was complemented by the continuous growth from non-telco services as more Filipinos adopt the digital lifestyle.

Globe’s mobile business sustained its strong showing with revenue of P107.5 billion, the second highest in company history.

The company said the revenue improvement came mostly from prepaid with greater public mobility and the resumption of face-to-face classes and work.

Globe ended 2022 with a total mobile customer base of 86.7 million in 2022.

Home broadband revenue, on the other hand, saw an eight percent decline to P27.09 billion last year from 2021’s P29.39 billion.

This was mainly attributed to expected lower performance of Globe At Home Prepaid WiFi, offsetting the increase in home broadband postpaid.

“Despite the performance of the fiber business, the addressable postpaid fiber market has reached saturation levels with the wider market remaining underserved. Public clamor for reliable and more importantly, affordable internet connectivity continues,” Globe said.

“In response to this, Globe has shifted its focus to prepaid fiber, which it believes will open the industry to a new segment that could potentially drive the next phase of growth for the home broadband industry,” it added.

Globe’s total home broadband subscriber count stood at 2.6 million as of end 2022.

For this year, Globe expects revenues to increase by mid-single digit from 2022 level, with relevant product platforms in place and aggressive network investments.

The telco said EBITDA margin may remain in the low 50s, as margins would be continuously impacted by the increasing contribution of lower-margin data-related products, but offset with efforts in managing costs.

“As we strive to future proof our network performance, provide better customer experience, and continue with various digital innovations to address the everyday pain points of our fellow Filipinos, we are optimistic that our beyond-telco initiatives will help enable the Philippines to become a truly digital nation,” Cu said.