Globe: Record revenues in an uncertain year

During last Tuesday’s annual stockholder’s meeting of Globe Telecom, the least we expected to hear from Globe chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (JAZA) is a strong performance for the year 2011, which showed a consolidated operating revenues up by nine percent to a record breaking P71.6 billion in a year which, last year during Globe’s annual stockholders meeting for the year 2010, was filled with uncertainty due to the coming (it was consummated last October 2011) merger between Smart Communications and Digitel Corp.

In his report last Tuesday, JAZA proudly said to Globe stockholders, “The year 2011 proved to be a banner year for Globe. The company posted significant improvements across all the key metrics of revenues, market share and profitability.” So there you are, the fears of the year 2011 only showed some paranoia for Globe officials, because the telecom industry has turned into a two-player industry when Smart gobbled up Digitel. Somehow, all those fears resulted in more hard work for the people in Globe Telecom and it produced a record-breaking growth.

Globe president Ernest Cu also sees this growth to continue well this year. Mobile revenues literally bounced back in 2011, up by seven percent compared to last year, while revenues from local voice calls, mobile browsing and other value-added service were up by 14 percent.

What was quite telling was that SIM penetration has reached a record 97% of the total Philippine population, which means only 3% of the population doesn’t have a cellphone. Globe’s market share is 35.9% while Smart and Sun combined is 64.0% of the country’s population. Cu also pointed out that Globe’s broadband revenues grew by 30 percent from 2010, while its subscriber base grew 14 percent to 1.4 million.

Meanwhile, helping Globe push to record revenues were its prepaid business which grew by nine percent, while its mass market brand TM posted a 15 percent growth, while postpaid subscribers contributed to a six percent increase in 2011 compared to the previous year. Indeed, Globe officials have reason to show an ear-to-ear smile these days because most of us expected a gloomy report, which didn’t happen.

If there was a question I wanted to ask on the floor, but decided to ask JAZA personally was… “Why is it that the front or Presidential table was so professional in running the stockholders meeting, but when it came to the questions from the floor… it’s the idiots that rule!!! Former Ayala man, Mr. Ariston Estrada who was within earshot when I asked JAZA that question replied, “It is better to have the idiots on the floor, rather than have them on the Presidential table!” It was the right answer of course that produced a lot of laughs from our old friends.

Incidentally we were part of the media from the Visayas and Mindanao who were brought to Manila to attend the Globe stockholders meeting. I always find our meeting with our media friends in the Visayas and Mindanao a learning experience so we could all share notes from each other.

One such thing I learned from our Mindanao friends like Ed Montalvan of Mindanao Current and Businessweek Mindanao publisher Dante Sudaria of Cagayan de Oro or Jon Joaquin of Mindanao Daily Mirror or Tony Ajero of the Edge was that the Mindanao Energy Summit that President Aquino called last Friday was a huge flop! They told me that President Aquino was a year too late. I guess P-Noy was “Noynoying” on the power problem in Mindanao.

Incidentally last December Globe Telecom launched the 4G system at the Manila Peninsula, but I only found out later from Mr. Peter Bithos that Davao will launch its 4G ahead of Cebu in the next couple of months. I also learned that only Samsung has 4G devices. I got an Apple iPhone I belated learned that it was only a 3G device. So now I got a Samsung Galaxy Note and I’m ready for their 4G.

Also while we were in Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao media got a briefing with Nikka Abes, Nokia’s Communications officer at the Ascott Hotel where she gave us a glimpse of the new cellphones dubbed “Lumia” from the once giant cellphone manufacturer. She showed us the Nokia Lumia 900 and the Lumia 610, which is supposed to be faster than the other smartphones as they are now “Windows” based phones.

I have always been a Nokia guy since 1994 when I dropped my Motorola flip phones for a Nokia 5110 (which is one of the sturdiest phones I ever owned). Up to two years ago, my cellphone was a Nokia E-71 and a Nokia Commander E-90, which I still have. But with my failing eyesight, I needed a phone that I could read even without glasses. Alas the fonts on Nokia phones are still too small even if you set it at a large setting.

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