PLDT says probe uncovers P48-B ‘budget overrun’

PLDT Inc. incurred a P48-billion “budget overrun” in the last four years, representing 12.7 percent of its total P379-billion capital spending budget, but the telco remains keen on keeping capital outlays elevated next year.

In a disclosure on Friday, the Pangilinan-led firm said the estimate was subject to “ongoing internal forensics mandated by the board and its audit committee, discussions with principal vendors with a view to reconciliation of accounts and reduction of such budget overruns.”

“The investigation has, so far, not uncovered any fraudulent transactions, procurement anomalies, or loss of assets arising from the capex spend,” PLDT said.

The capex was allocated to LTE and 5G rollout, Fiber-to-the-home investments, fiber, submarine cable expansion and tower upgrades, among others.

The budget overrun was expected to be mitigated by the gains from its P77-billion sale and lease back agreement. It announced today another deal amounting to P9.2 billion.

PLDT said its major revenue streams remain “healthy and robust.”