Publicly-listed Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. posted a lower net loss of P19.5 million in the first half of the year, down 45 percent from P35.72 million in the same period last year, despite the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
PT&T told the stock exchange total revenues amounted to P207.67 million this year, up 23 percent from P169.29 million last year. It attributed the growth to a 22-percent increase in broadband connections as internet access became business essential during the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We all have to live with the business uncertainty brought about by the pandemic for the foreseeable future. PT&T is here to bridge the technology gap and support the digital transformation needs of Filipinos and businesses with our combined connectivity and IT services,” said James Velasquez, president and chief executive of PT&T, in a statement.
“Since last year we have managed to transform our offerings and be a digital services provider,” he added.
Core EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) stood at P37 million, up 209 percent year-on-year, further highlighting the company’s upturn in performance since it installed a new management team in 2017.
The demand and surge in consumption for wireless connectivity snowballed during the quarantine period as Filipinos stayed home and veered towards online activities, like telecommuting, e-commerce, digital play, online learning and online banking.
The company said the fixed broadband segment, where despite limitations brought about by the community quarantine and restrictions in physical distancing, still increased foothold with subscriber growth translating into a 15-percent increase in revenues on year.
The new IT Services business significantly grew and gained traction, contributing close to 10 percent of the company's total revenue during the first half of 2020.
The developments led to an improvement in the company’s net loss position by 45 percent versus last year. It attributed the improvement mainly to depreciation of fiber network-based investments made in recent years.
PT&T stayed operational during community quarantine to provide clients and prospective ones their much-needed connectivity and IT solutions services.
PT&T has a network asset of 14,000 poles equivalent to 13,500 fiber kilometers covering almost 40 percent of the total Philippine population in high growth developing areas. An additional 46,000 poles through joint agreements has the potential to expand the nationwide network coverage to over 110,000 fiber kilometers.
PT&T holds a 25-year franchise that allows the company to establish, maintain, and operate both wired and wireless telecommunications systems for domestic and international communication in the country.
