Globe net earnings hit P3B in fourth quarter

GLOBE Telecom, Inc. reported a core net income of P3.16 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, bringing its full-year bottom line to P19.17 billion, amid greater public mobility and the resumption of face-to-face activities.

In a press release on Tuesday, the Ayala-led company said its October-December core income declined by 37% quarter on quarter. It previously reported its fourth-quarter 2021 income at P2.95 billion.

In the three months that ended December 2022, the company reached P40 billion in service revenues from P37.96 billion in the same period in 2021.

“The revenue improvement came mostly from prepaid with greater public mobility and the resumption of face-to-face classes and work,” the company said.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, Globe booked P26.93 billion in revenues from its mobile business, up from P26.54 billion in 2021.

“Despite 2022 being a challenging year marked by inflationary pressures, high interest rates and weakened consumer confidence, Globe once again showed resilience,” Globe President And Chief And Executive Officer Ernest L. Cu said.

“We are happy that the Globe Group closed the year with strong topline and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) growth,” he added.

For full-year 2022, Globe’s core net income was 9.8% lower at P19.17 billion from P21.25 billion in 2021.

This was despite a 3.8% rise in its topline to P157.98 billion in 2022 from P152.26 billion a year earlier, driven by its mobile and corporate data business.

“The significant increase in data revenues, which accounts for 81% of total service revenues mainly fueled this year’s performance, given the accelerated digital adoption among Filipinos,” said Globe.

Corporate data revenues are largely from the company’s information and communication technology (ICT) business which includes business applications, cloud, and data center services.

The company’s full-year EBITDA was also higher at P79.09 billion, up by 5.6% from P74.92 billion in the previous year.

Meanwhile, Globe said its capital expenditure rose by almost 9% in 2022 to P101.4 billion. This is the company’s “highest investment ever” in its mobile and fixed network.

The company said that 86% of this capital was used for data requirements “to ensure more relevant digital solutions and best-in-class connectivity” to its customers.

At the stock exchange, shares in the company declined by 1.67% or P36 to close at P2,114 each on Tuesday. — Justine Irish D. Tabile