Globe raises P10B from sale of shares

Globe Telecom Inc. has raised a total of P10 billion from the sale of non-voting preferred shares, which would be listed on the local stock exchange on Friday, a regulatory filing showed on Monday.

Globe said the money was raised after it exercised an oversubscription option of P3 billion on top of the aggregate issue size of P7 billion.

The offer period ended last Aug. 15. The money was expected to partly finance Globe’s 2014 projected capital expenditures of $600 million to $650 million.

About a third of the company’s capital spending budget for 2014 is related to trailing payments for the network and IT modernization programs undertaken in prior years, the company said earlier.

Another third is earmarked for the expansion of its data network, including continued investments in LTE (long-term evolution or 4G) and fixed broadband with the rest to be spent for network performance enhancements and improving customer service.

Globe reported last week that core profit, which excludes the impact of the nonrecurring items, such as the accelerated depreciation charges related to its modernization program, rose 18 percent to P7.6 billion from January to June this year.

Net profit stood at P6.8 billion, almost a fourfold increase from P1.4 billion a year earlier, Globe said. Miguel R. Camus