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Philippines: Converge continues pandemic-led boom in Q3
MANILA, Philippines — Converge ICT Solutions Inc. extended its hot streak in the third quarter as the listed broadband services provider continued to attract new subscribers amid the pandemic.
Net income grew 109% year-on-year to P1.95 billion in the July-September period, the company told the stock exchange on Thursday. In the first nine months, Converge’s bottom-line more than doubled compared with a year ago to P5.2 billion.
Investors seemed impressed with the results. As of 11:45 a.m., shares in Converge gained 1.62%, bucking losses in the main index.
As it stands, Converge finished another quarter with a bang, thanks to continued growth in subscriber base fueled by strong demand for reliable internet connection from locked-down consumers. At the end of the third quarter, the company already had 1.58 million residential clients, up 75% year-on-year. Converge estimates that 94% of its new clients last quarter were first time fixed broadband users, in what the company considered as a reflection of “high unserved demand” in the country.
“Amid the continued community quarantine restrictions and lockdowns, Filipinos consume more and more bandwidth at home for work, school, and entertainment,” Dennis Anthony Uy, company chief executive, said.
“We aim to cater to the growing demand across the country.”
Financial results showed consolidated revenues surged 68% on-year to P7.1 billion in the third quarter. Broken down, revenues from residential business — Converge’s bread and butter — went up 79% annually to P6.2 billion during the period while enterprise revenues grew 18% year-on-year to P887 million as the company enticed more corporate clients, most of them small and medium businesses.
At the same time, Converge benefitted from a new law that cut corporate income tax to 25% from 30% previously.
That said, Converge is pursuing its goals with a healthy balance sheet. The company added over 13,000 kilometer of fiber optic cable to its network in the third quarter. Its network has now passed through 440 cities and municipalities during that period, even reaching Palawan.
Converge also completed its 1,8000 kilometer domestic submarine cable project connecting the country’s three major islands to its national fiber backbone. It said it is now “on track” to reach its target to cover approximately 55% of households in the entire archipelago by 2023, two years earlier than its original plan.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2021/11/11/2140549/converge-continues-pandemic-led-boom-q3