Globe declares P22.75 per share cash dividend

Globe Telecom approved the declaration of cash dividend of P22.75 per common share on the heels of continued profitability following the disclosure of third quarter results.

Globe said the dividend would be paid to shareholders on record as of Nov. 17, 2017, payable on Dec. 1, 2017.

“The fourth quarter cash dividend payment total is P3 billion, bringing the total dividend distribution for the year to P12 billion for holders of common shares,” Globe chief finance officer Rizza Maniego-Eala said in a statement.

Globe earlier disclosed that core profit in the nine months to September this year slid by 5 percent to P11.2 billion. It cited increased charges as it rolled out mobile and fixed-line internet investments.

Globe said capital expenditures so far this year had reached P36.8 billion, 84 percent of which went to data-related initiatives. It earlier announced a plan to spend as much as $850 million for 2017, or over P43 billion.

Globe said service revenue hit a new record after gaining 6 percent to P95.1 billion in the nine months to September.

It said mobile business remained strong, led by a sharp rise in mobile data revenue.

The mobile business was up 7 percent in terms of revenue for the period. Globe noted that mobile data revenue, accounting for 43 percent of the total, hit P31.3 billion, up 20 percent. This was on the back of better smartphone penetration and increased data traffic.

Its home broadband segment also grew. Home broadband was higher by 8 percent to P11.7 billion in revenue. Its corporate data business also increased 4 percent to P7.6 billion.—MIGUEL R. CAMUS