PLDT trims capex but keeps infra build on high gear
MANILA, Philippines — PLDT Inc., which ended 2024 with record-high revenues, has remained prudent with its spending this year after setting a lower capital expenditure (capex) guidance but it assured continued rollout of network to expand services across the country.
In a briefing on Thursday in Makati City, PLDT chief financial Officer Danny Yu said they had earmarked P68 billion to P73 billion in capex this year—less than the spending cache set for P78.2 billion in 2024 and P85.1 billion in 2023.
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The telco giant will spend on building new cell sites, upgrading existing facilities and deploying home fiber ports, in addition to undersea cable systems and data centers.
“The reduction in capex is actually premised on a more efficient strategic rollout and strategic use of those capex. We are able to reduce our capex without actually reducing our thrust towards revenue-generating infrastructure,” PLDT chief operating officer Menardo Jimenez Jr. said.
AI tools
PLDT is also investing in artificial intelligence (AI) tools to further improve operations and data analytics.
“There are countless challenges and opportunities in the horizon—among them are AI, big data and the transition to a completely digital native workforce,” PLDT president and CEO Manuel Pangilinan said.
PLDT grew its net income by 21 percent to P32.31 billion last year, thanks to its top line figures rising by 3 percent to an all-time high P216.83 billion because of data revenues.
Last year, data and broadband revenues improved by 3 percent to P162.1 billion, accounting for 83 percent of the consolidated service revenues.
The number of active data users rose by 6 percent to 41.3 million last year. Meanwhile, mobile data traffic climbed by 9 percent to 5,359 petabytes.
Client base
Wireless unit Smart Communications has 59 million mobile subscribers as of end-2024.
Total fiber subscribers stood at 3.4 million as of latest reporting. This segment saw revenues grow by 6 percent to P56 billion last year.
The fiber business has reached 18.5 million homes while the combined 5G and 45 networks cater to about 97 percent of the population.
PLDT’s enterprise business, meanwhile, grew in revenues by 3 percent to P48.4 billion as corporate clients seek more connectivity and information and technology services.
