The telecommunications unit of San Miguel Corp. said on Tuesday it booked a bigger net loss in 2015, mostly because of higher operating expenses.
Liberty Telecoms Holdings Inc. said net loss amounted to P1.59 billion in 2015, up 75 percent from P883.06 million in 2014.
Revenues amounted to P291.94 million last year, down 32 percent from P427.15 million in 2015.
“The Group’s revenues for the period reflect the decrease in subscribers of broadband services and lower rental and utility charges received from other telecommunication companies during the year,” Liberty Telecoms said.
Liberty Telecoms’ expenses during the period amounted to P1.86 billion, higher by 55 percent from P1.20 billion in 2014.
Despite the losses, the company said its major shareholders fully understood that these losses were expected following the launch of the group’s Internet access product.
Liberty Telecoms said it planned to maximize existing assets and network sites through leasing agreements and optimize operating cost to increase the company’s revenues.
It also plans to synergize its operations with the SMC Telecommunications Group.
Besides Liberty Telecoms, San Miguel has other telecommunication companies under its portfolio, namely Express Telecommunications Inc., Eastern Telecommunications Philippines Inc. and Bell Telecommunications Philippines Inc.
San Miguel and Australia’s Telstra Corp. in March ended talks on a $1-billion joint investment in a new mobile network in the Philippines due to “commercial arrangements” issue.
Despite the collapsed joint venture, San Miguel said it would still switch on its telecommunications network along with a high-speed Internet service as scheduled.
Telstra offered to continue technical work design and construction consultancy support to San Miguel.
“SMC’s entry in the telecom market will definitely be a game changer. When we launch, consumers will benefit from better, cheaper service,” San Miguel president Ramon Ang said.
Ang said San Miguel was still interested in considering other joint venture opportunities for its telecom business.