Globe Telecom Inc. said Thursday it is borrowing P7 billion from a local bank to partly finance capital expenditures this year.
“We do need financing for our capex. We have another P7 billion more to fund, but the facility is already in place,” Globe acting chief finance officer Rizza Maniego-Eala told reporters in a news briefing.
Eala said the company expected to sign the P7-billion loan with a local bank “in the next few days.”
The telecom unit of Ayala Corp. programmed $750 million for 2016 capex. Globe spent $370.4 million to expand its data network in the first half.
Globe said it had 28,992 base stations, with close to 19,000 base stations for 4G, to support the service requirements of customers.
Globe said it was seeking consent solicitation for five year and three months, 5.75-percent fixed-rate bonds due 2017 and 2020.
The consent solicitation exercise aims to amend the trust indenture of the bonds to allow Globe to maintain a higher consolidated debt-to-equity ratio of 2.5:1 from the current 2:1.
“It gives us the flexibility to be able to prepare for any future capex that we need,” Eala said. The transaction is expected to free-up about $600 million a year on its balance sheet, she said.
Globe earlier reported a net income of P8.97 billion in January to June, up from P8.71 billion a year ago. Core net income, which excludes the impact of non- recurring charges, foreign exchange gains and mark-to-market charges, rose 2 percent to P8.8 billion from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Globe said the Court of Appeals approved its urgent motion to consolidate its petition with PLDT Inc. to oblige Philippine Competition Commission to declare the transaction as “deemed approved” under their circular.
“Globe has followed the rules, and that motion to consolidate is just in accordance with Rule 31 of the Rules of Court. This is only but fitting as all Globe’s actions on this matter are well within the bounds of the rules, especially that the PCC’s Memorandum Circular 2016-002,” Globe general counsel Froilan Castelo said.
“We are disappointed that it is the PCC itself that does not follow the rules of court when it opposes the consolidation of the cases; and their own rules, MC 2016-002,” he said.
Castelo said PCC clearly contradicted its own rules by claiming the two telcos failed to comply with its own rules.