Globe secures P7-B term loan

Globe Telecom sealed a P7-billion loan deal with a local bank to partly finance its capital spending program for the year.

In a stock exchange filing yesterday, Globe said it had signed a 10-year term loan with Land Bank of the Philippines. The telco, owned by Ayala Corp. and Singapore Telecommunications, said it was setting aside about $750 million for capital spending in 2016.

It said most of the money would be used for data-related projects, such as LTE services and “coverage augmentation” for 3G. Funds will also be used for the modernization of its fixed-line data infrastructure and requirements for transmission facilities.

The telco spent P32.1 billion in 2015 in a similar manner. It noted that half of the amount went to the upgrade  of data service requirements of customers.

The telco has been investing heavily in data, which has proven a rich source of growth for telecommunications companies in the Philippines and elsewhere around the world.

Demand for smartphones and mobile Internet helped expand the company’s total service revenue by 15 percent to P113.7 billion last year, Globe said in a previous filing.

Globe reported another banner year in terms of earnings for 2015. It said core profit last year grew 4 percent to P15.1 billion, removing gains related to the sale of its 51- percent stake in Yondu Inc. and the acquisition of Bayan Telecommunications last year.

Globe said mobile subscribers hit 52.9 million, up 20 percent, last year. It said this was partly due to aggressive acquisitions through 2015, and low churn rates in its pre-paid brands.

Globe noted that mobile revenue was up 9 percent to P85.1 billion. Its post paid revenue grew 7 percent, the filing showed.

Those gains helped bolster mobile data service revenues, which amounted to P22.1 billion for the year, up 55 percent. Its broadband business also saw revenues at 17.5 billion, up 38 percent, on 4.3 million subscribers, higher by 55 percent, following the acquisition of Bayan.