Globe Telecom Inc., the telecommunications arm of the Ayala Group and owner of the country’s biggest payment system app GCash, said Thursday it expects service revenue growth at “mid-single digit” in 2023.
In 2022, Globe saw a 4 percent year-on-year increase in service revenue to around PHP158 billion, lifted by growth in the earnings from corporate data, mobile and other products. Earnings from home broadband and fixed-line voice were lower.
Briefing papers sent to the stock exchange prior to Globe’s analysts briefing showed that its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization will stay steady around the 50 percent. It was at 50 percent in 2022 and 49 percent in 2021.
Globe noted that the outlook for this year is contingent on the turnover and payment of tower assets within 2023 and the outcome of the SIM registration. A law that took effect last year requires all SIM cards to be registered on pain of cancellation. The law intends to stamp out the use of unregistered SIM cards for scam or fraud. SIM cards not registered with the government will be cancel after the deadline in late April.
Around 9 in every 10 subscribers to Globe and its unit TM are users of prepaid cards. Unregistered SIM cards will be deactivated. Globe has a total 86.7 million mobile subscribers. With just a little over two months before the registration deadline, Globe has only registered 12 million subscribers.
Capital expenditures will be dialed down by Globe to $1.3 billion this year and further down to $1 billion in 2024 compared with $1.9 billion in 2022 to quickly expand its fiber network.
Earlier this week, Globe declared a P25 cash dividend for shareholders on record February 20 and will be paid on March 8. The first quarter cash dividend totals P3.6 billion. Globe declared a total P14.4 billion in cash dividends last year, or 68 percent of 2021 core profit.
