PLDT netted P8.9B in Q1 on stable revenues

FILE PHOTO

Telecommunications (telco) giant PLDT Inc. posted a net income of P8.92 billion in the first quarter, as steady wireless, enterprise and data revenues again helped offset softer legacy services.

In a disclosure on Thursday, the Manuel Pangilinan-led telco said its reported net income for the January-to-March period was only slightly lower than the P9.06 billion recorded a year earlier.

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Core income rose 2 percent to P9.1 billion, supported by stronger enterprise revenues and a 19-percent increase in the bottom line of digital bank Maya as well as gains from property sales.

PLDT chief financial officer Danny Yu said the company raised around P300 million to P400 million from asset sales during the quarter, including properties in Cebu and Baguio, while more than 200 assets remain available for disposal.

PLDT’s gross service revenues rose 3 percent to P54.9 billion, while net service revenues held steady at P48.9 billion.

Data and broadband revenues climbed to P41.9 billion and now account for 86 percent of total service revenues.

“We are moving in the right direction,” said Pangilinan, chair and CEO of PLDT. “The fundamentals are sound and the momentum is there, but our team is capable of more.”

However, the outlook for the telco remains fluid as PLDT executives declined to provide full-year revenue and profit guidance due to uncertainty from the Middle East conflict.

“It’s hard to predict right now,” Yu said at a briefing on Thursday.

Enterprise revenues climbed 4 percent to P12.4 billion during the quarter, while ICT revenues alone surged 17 percent.

PLDT COO Menardo Jimenez Jr. said he expects the enterprise segment to remain its main growth engine as demand for cloud, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) and ICT services continues to expand.

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“Definitely, enterprise is going to be leading the growth for us,” Jimenez said. “AI is moving so fast. You slow it down, you’re going to get beaten by whoever comes in first.”

PLDT’s wireless consumer revenues reached P21 billion, supported by sustained mobile data demand and fixed wireless access services, whose revenues rose 18 percent year-on-year.

The firm’s home business generated P15 billion in revenues, with fiber revenues remaining steady at P14.7 billion.

PLDT’s consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 2 percent to P28.3 billion.

Capital expenditures reached P10 billion, with around P7.8 billion allocated for IT, network and data center projects alone. INQ