TWO MEDIUM-SIZED TELECOMMUNIcation firms trimmed their losses at the end of the third quarter, both on the back of stronger sales and a stronger peso.

Gokongwei-controlled Digital Telecommunications Phils., Inc. (Digitel) posted a net loss of P394.2 million at the end of September this year, its parent company JG Summit Holdings, Inc. said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

This is lower than the P2.7 billion the company lost in the same nine-month period last year.

?Consolidated cost and operating expenses increased by 30 percent to P7 billion from last year?s consolidated figure of P5.4 billion,? JG Summit said.

?Higher cost of sales, network-related expenses and general and administrative expenses primarily contribted to the increase,? it added.

The company said its consolidated service and non-service revenues for nine-month period totaled P10.3 billion, up by nearly a third from last year?s P7.7 billion. The wireless service segment, which comprised 73 percent of total revenues, grew to P7.5 billion or 58 percent higher from a year earlier.

Digitel which, through its mobile brand Sun Cellular, is the third-largest telecommunications firm in the country, attributed its revenue gains to the continued success of its unlimited service offerings for short messaging service and voice calls, which the company pioneered in the local market.

?In addition, upgrading the services by continuously expanding network coverage through aggressive network rollouts directly contributed to the increase of subscriber base,? the company said.

The firm said the introduction of new services to tap the broadband market contributed largely to the increase in sales.

Non-service revenues stemming from higher sales of SIM packs and phone kits also grew 55.7 percent.

The company?s earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) stood at P3.2 billion, 40 percent better than a year ago.

Earlier this year, Sun Cellular said its subscriber base reached nine million, making it the country?s third largest telco.

The company trails dominant carrier Smart Communications, Inc., which has around 38 million subscribers, and Globe Telecom, Inc, with over 25 million.

Meanwhile, Lopez-owned Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. recorded a net loss of P565 million for the January to September period, from a P2.57 billion net loss in the same period last year. The company said its massive losses came as a result of the peso?s depreciation, which increased the servicing costs of its dollar-denominated obligations.

After suffering massive losses in an extremely competitive environment, Bayantel entered a 19-year rehabilitation plan which ends in 2023.

In line with its rehabilitation, Bayantel said it would pay off about P1.4 billion in debt this year.