MANILA, Philippines — Integrated telco giant PLDT Inc. reported a net income of P27.88 billion in the first nine months, up one percent as the company continuously increased revenue while cutting costs.
Total revenues rose by three percent to P156.36 billion, while expenses declined by 14 percent to P116.59 billion.
PLDT and Smart president and CEO Al Panlilio said: “Now more than ever, we are witnessing how the power of technology and digital services impact Filipinos’ standard of living, with innovations bringing convenience, comfort, productivity, and security to improve overall quality of life.”
Moving forward, he said PLDT would continue to enable the public “with the tools and connectivity needed to enhance their digital lifestyles.”
The company’s capex guidance for the year of P80 billion to P85 billion – including fresh capex and carry over capex – will drive revenue growth and support continuing rise in network traffic. This figure is higher than the P97 billion spent in 2022.
EBITDA, meanwhile, jumped to record highs of P78.4 billion during the nine-month period or up by four percent. It is trending to exceed again the P100-billion mark this year.
Telco core income – excluding the impact of asset sales and Maya Innovations Holdings (formerly Voyager Innovations Holdings –reached P26.1 billion.
Gross service revenues grew by three percent to 149.8 billion while consolidated service revenues surged by P1.1 billion to an all-time high of P142.3 billion during the nine month period.
In terms of business segment, PLDT Home’s fiber-only service revenues grew by 10 percent to a record of P39.3 billion during the nine-month period, accounting for 87 percent of total Home revenues of P45.3 billion, which were two percent higher than the same period last year.
PLDT’s total fiber subscribers as of end-September 2023 stood at 3.14 million, with 210,000 fiber net additions during the nine-month period.
The company’s individual wireless segment registered revenues of P60.6 billion during the nine-month period, up year-on-year by P300 million, as mobile data revenues rose by five percent to P52.4 billion.
The B2B arm of the PLDT Group continued its growth trend, reaching a record of P34.8 billion in service revenues, driven by a significant growth in its ICT business and its fixed and wireless solutions.
With the latest results, PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan is optimistic about PLDT’s performance for the whole year of 2023 amid a tough economic environment.
“The company has done reasonably well against a tough inflationary environment, relatively high interest rates, and a slowing economic growth. In this regard, we are guiding full year core net income of P34 billion, compared with P33.3 billion in 2022,” Pangilinan said.