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Philippines: Work-from-home shift boosts PLDT earnings as of September
MANILA, Philippines — Telco giant PLDT Inc. boosted earnings in the first 9 months on the back of bigger revenues from data services and wider home connections installed while people were stuck at home.
The firm disclosed to the stock exchange on Thursday P19.9 billion in profits from January to September, up 24.1% year-on-year. Broken down, revenues went up 7.4% from year-ago to P127.85 billion, while expenses grew 4% on-year to P99 billion.
PLDT’s core income, excluding that from Voyager Innovations Inc., the firm’s fintech arm, likewise improved 8% year-on-year to P21 billion.
“We do expect revenues to increase in the fourth quarter,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, chair and chief executive.
Unlike most industries that reported financial difficulties due to the pandemic, PLDT’s telco business has heavily benefited from an abrupt shift to work-from-home arrangements and schooling that went online.
This was reflected on the data. Revenues from consumer wireless segment reached P21 billion in the third quarter, bringing the 9-month tally to P60.8 billion, both an “all-time high.” Data use accounted for 74% of total revenues from just 68% same period a year ago.
The home segment also saw growth in revenues at P30.3 billion from January to September as more subscribers get signed up and because of “sustained demand” for the service from consumers encouraged to stay home amid the pandemic.
As it is, new installations reached 72,000 per month over the past 9 months, nearly double the 40,000 average new clients seen in same period last year, PLDT said.
“We have seen our service revenues grow consistently quarter-on-quarter since 2018. If not for the negative impact of the lockdown in the second quarter of this year, we would have had 11 quarters of consecutive growth,” said Alfredo Panlilio, chief executive of Smart Communications, PLDT’s wireless unit.
The company’s EBITDA, essentially earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization, rose 9% year-on-year to P66 billion. By end-September, PLDT said its 3G and 4G mobile data networks would cover at least 95% of the country’s population.
Shares at PLDT rose 1.06% to end trading at P1,340 each on Thursday.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/05/2054808/work-home-shift-boosts-pldt-earnings-september