Push Admin

PLDT wants to ‘narrow’ 1.2-million SIM gap with Globe

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" The facade of the PLDT building in Makati on May 09, 2019. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/tvpatrol/04/17/20190509-pldt-results-briefing-gc-7631.jpg"/><figcaption>The facade of the PLDT building in Makati on May 09, 2019. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- PLDT is looking to close in on rival Globe Telecom’s lead in the number of mobile subscribers, the telco’s head said on Thursday as the company reported a 10 percent increase in its net income in the first half. </p><p>At the telco&#x27;s 2023 first-half earnings briefing in Makati, PLDT president and CEO Al Panlilio admitted that the Ayala-led telco had 1.2 million more registered SIMs.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/08/01/23/more-than-113-million-sims-registered-as-of-july-30-ntc">More than 113 million SIMs registered as of July 30: NTC</a></li></ul><p>He said PLDT aims to narrow that gap and even overtake Globe in the mobile business.</p><p>&quot;Our objective is to reclaim leadership position in mobile. It&#x27;s always been neck and neck naman, our job is: how we can grab market share eventually from them,&quot; said Panlilio.</p><p>Panlilio said there is no timeline for overtaking Globe, but the telco continues to improve their services and expand its reach.</p><p>&quot;It’s really hard to say when that exactly will happen. We will continue to push,&quot; he said.</p><p>PLDT said its net income in the first six months of 2023 reached P18.5 billion, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year.</p><p>Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization also grew by three percent to P52.1 billion.</p><p>Telco core income also climbed to P17.6 billion, up 3 percent from the same period in 2022.</p><p>The company said data and broadband revenues grew by 4 percent to P77.5 billion, contributing 82 percent of consolidated service revenues. </p><p>Meanwhile, PLDT said their fiber-only service revenues grew by 11 percent to P25.7 billion. </p><p>PLDT also said the revenues of their business-to-business arm went up 2 percent to P23.2 billion from January to June on the back of the 13 percent growth in their data center and cloud businesses.</p><p>The company said its fintech arm Maya now has 2.3 million depositors, with P25 billion in deposits.</p><p>Maya now has released over P10 billion in loans since its launch in April 2022, PLDT noted. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/04/23/pldt-telco-core-net-income-up-5-pct-at-p86-billion-in-q1">PLDT telco core net income up 5 pct at P8.6 billion in Q1</a></li></ul><p>PLDT Chairman Manuel Pangilinan also said the company is looking at “continuous improvement.”</p><p>&quot;A mindset of continuous improvement is one thing we at PLDT need to not only espouse but practice in everything we do,&quot; he said. </p><p>PLDT officials forecast single digit growth for the full year and capex of about P80 to 85 billion. Telco core income is expected to reach between P33.5 to P34 billion.</p><div><strong>--with a report from Jekki Pascual, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED STORY:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2746999" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

PLDT president and CEO Al Panlilio admitted that the Ayala-led telco had 1.2 million more registered SIMs.