Globe Telecom Inc., the second largest telecom company in the country, said Friday its first quarter net income dropped 47 percent to P7.3 billion from P13.7 billion last year, which included gains from the partial sale of its data center business.
Excluding the P8.5 billion one-time gain from the data center sale, Globe said first-quarter net income would have been flat at P5.1 billion—a reflection of the macroeconomic headwinds undermining business.
Service revenue in the first quarter increased 2 percent year-on-year to P40.0 billion, with 81 percent contributed by the data business.
Globe is accelerating its pivot to become full-fledged tech enterprise—offering services such as Yondu, ECPay and Asticom—in the light of saturation in business segments of the traditional telecommunications company.
Non-telco revenues in the quarter rose 80 percent to P1.4 billion.
Ernest Cu, president and chief executive officer of Globe, said the company performed well in the face of higher inflation and interest rates and other economic challenges. He said digital solutions introduced and being developed by Globe gives reason to be “upbeat and optimistic about growth prospects.”
“We believe that we are well-positioned to sustain this business momentum, and unlock new areas of growth as we strive to future-proof our network, provide better customer experience, and continue with various digital innovations,” Cu said.
Globe said capital expenditures in the first quarter declined 16 percent to P17.6 billion, the bulk spent for data requirement.
The company already raised P40.5 billion from the completed sale of 3,120 of the 7,059 telecom towers it agreed to sell last year.
