Globe Telecom Inc. said its stronger-than-expected revenue growth across all businesses continues to fuel investments in higher network capacity and wider coverage.
The company, owned by conglomerate Ayala Corp., said it was allocating about 30 percent of gross service revenues to capital spending every year.
“We intend to continue providing more of what our customers want which include superior content through global partnerships, pervasive internet and superior mobile experience,” Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu said.
The Globe network’s combined 3G and 4G data traffic volume to date has increased by 140 percent, with 390 petabytes in the first half of 2018 from 280 petabytes in the same period last year. The growing data traffic volume is also seen in its revenue growth across all businesses.
Globe sustained its market leadership in mobile, with revenues surging to P51.6 billion in the first six months of the year, one of the strongest performances in Southeast year-to-date.
The mobile subscriber base totaled 65.1 million as of end-June 2018, up 9 percent from 59.7 million subscribers year-on-year.
The company’s growth in home broadband business provides Globe with a second engine, posting total revenue of P8.7 billion in the first half of the year. The higher revenue was driven by subscriber expansion in fixed wireless solutions as well as the positive market response to the new and more flexible home broadband bundles and plans.
The gains in mobile data and broadband were complemented by corporate data, which posted P5.4 billion in revenues in the first six months of the year, fueled by sustained demand for corporate connectivity and business solutions.
“With data traffic continuing to be robust, we are accelerating our capex guidance by $100 million this year to further develop our network infrastructure. Right now, around 34 percent of our revenue goes back to spending for upgrading our network. This is among the highest reinvestment ratios in the world,” Cu said. While it is upgrading its network to support 5G by early 2019, Globe is also pushing the boundaries of its 4G/LTE network in the country.
The company has been cited by independent crowdsourcing surveys for having the most pervasive 4G/LTE network in the Philippines.