Globe Telecom Inc. has secured a P5-billion loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank), an amount that will help bankroll the company’s general financing and corporate requirements for capital expenditures, a disclosure to the stock exchange showed.
The Ayala-led telco is spending about P50 billion in capital outlays this year, most of which are programmed for the expansion and extension of its mobile and fixed line networks, including the development of 5G technology.
As of end-September, Globe has spent P33.4 billion of the programmed capital expenditures for 2020, 81 percent of which was spent on data-related requirements.
Globe claims that this “benefitted Globe’s customers as evidenced in the latest global report of Opensignal naming Globe as one of the most improved telecommunication companies in the world in terms of video experience.”
Opensignal, in its August 2020 report, cited marked improvements in download speeds and 4G availability within the Globe network from 2017 to 2020. As of August, Globe’s mobile data speed averaged at 8.5 Mbps, an 80.9-percent rise from 4.7 Mbps in 2017, while 4G availability was at 83.3 percent from 63.7 percent.
“Globe remains on track to meet its full year guidance of capital expenditures amounting to P50 billion with the company’s continued focus on increasing capacity and upgrades nationwide for better internet experience for Filipinos,” the disclosure read.
Globe saw its bottomline dropping by a tenth in January to September, as the pandemic forced consumers and enterprise customers to cut their telco expenses, slightly trimming the company’s revenues.
The telco’s net income stood at P15.89 billion during the period, a 10-percent decline from P17.68 billion the year prior. The 3-percent reduction on its operating costs and sales expenses was not enough to offset the 3-percent decline in operating revenues to P119.59 billion from P123.42 billion as well as the 6-percent increase in depreciation charges to P26.58 billion.
The decline in revenues was mostly due to the reduction in the consumption of mobile usage, as consumers were forced to stay at home, while corporates also reduced telco spending due to work-from-home arrangements. This was cushioned, however, by the rise in home broadband data usage.
Globe’s core net income also plummeted by 13 percent to P15.61 billion from P17.86 billion in the same period in 2019.
Shares in Globe added P30 apiece or a 1.5-percent improvement from its previous close to end Thursday’s trade at P2,030 per share.