PLDT Inc. said Thursday net income fell 4 percent in the first nine months from a year ago on higher expenses and a weak peso.
The country’s largest telecommunications company said net profit dropped from P19.6 billion from January to September last year to P18.8 billion “after taking into account revaluation losses due to the peso’s depreciation this year vis-a -vis the peso appreciation last year.”
PLDT said net income in the third quarter dropped 20.2 percent to P5.9 billion from last year’s P7.4 billion. Telco core income, excluding the impact of asset sales and Voyager Innovations, rose 10 percent to P23.1 billion, helped by lower tax rates.
PLDT said it remained on track to reach full-year core income guidance of P30 billion.
“We are cautiously optimistic that as the economy reopens, we are best positioned to serve our customers through the new normal, as evidenced by our strong results for the first nine months of 2021,” said PLDT president and chief executive Al Panlilio.
“While all business units continue to show solid performance, this is more apparent in the Home business, where we pushed record installations in recognition of the connectivity needs of our customers,” he said.
Consolidated service revenues amounted to P135.9 billion, up by 7 percent from last year’s P126.58 billion.
The company’s expenses, on the other hand, grew by 14 percent to P113 billion in the first nine months from P127.8 billion in the same period last year.
PLDT’s Home revenues grew by 25 percent to P35.3 billion, boosted by the revenue increase in the third quarter.
Individual wireless revenue grew 3 percent to P65.1 billion despite the challenging market conditions due to limited mobility, economic difficulties and competition.
PLDT’s Enterprise segment recorded a revenue growth of 2 percent to P31.1 billion in the first nine months of the year.
PLDT said it spent P63.3 billion in the first nine months out of the P88-billion capital expenditures this year.
The company said network upgrades continued to represent the bulk of the capex, as the group ensures consistent delivery of superior customer experience.
PLDT’s extensive fiber infrastructure totaled about 615,000 kilometers as of end-September, up 17 percent from end-June and 43 percent from 2020, allowing potential delivery of fixed broadband connectivity to an estimated 12.7 million homes passed.
The infrastructure complements Smart’s 5G network expansion, supporting 6,400 live 5G sites, surpassing the initial target of 3,800 5G base stations this year.
Its LTE network covers 96 percent of the population from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi. As of end September, Smart’s base stations reached over 72,600.
