Globe Telecom Inc.’s portfolio business Brad, an on-demand logistics solutions provider, plans to expand its presence beyond Metro Manila and go nationwide this year.
Brad General Manager Richie Santos said the group has started covering “Metro Manila and nearby provinces” last quarter, and is gearing up to expand “to the rest of Luzon and then to Visayas and Mindanao in the second half of 2022.”
“What we want to highlight for Brad is convenience. We’re focusing our efforts on expanding the channels we have right now to serve the SMEs [small and medium enteprises], especially homegrown businesses and communities, given the limited options for on-demand logistics solutions in the provinces,” Santos said.
Brad offers a range of logistical services that are tailored for businesses from various industries, such as health and wellness, food and beverage, e-commerce, and telecommunications. It also looks into the education, medical, pharmaceutical, and hospitality sectors.
Santos said Brad also plans to expand its customer base by targeting SMEs, as the country continues to ramp up digital transformation initiatives, including the development of e-commerce.
Currently, Brad has more than 30 merchants in its portfolio and over 150 riders based in different localities. Santos said the group expects to “grow the number significantly with its ongoing expansion.”
Brad is part of the Asticom Group, a subsidiary of Globe.
In February, Globe announced that it has allocated a budget of P89 billion for its capital expenditure (capex) program this year.
The amount–just 4 percent lower than the P92.8-billion capex spend in 2021, an all time high for Globe–will be used to build more cell sites, upgrade existing ones, deploy 4G and 5G radios, and add more fiber lines across the country, according to a Globe disclosure on Wednesday.
Last year, Globe aggressively expanded its fixed line and wireless networks, building 1,407 new cell sites, upgraded over 22,300 mobile sites, installed more than 2,000 5G radios, and installed 1.4 million fiber-to-the-home lines.
Aside from announcing its capital outlays program for 2022, Globe also reported that it netted P23.7 billion in profits last year, a 27-percent increase from P18.6 billion the year prior, thanks to the upside impact of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act as well as the gain from the P4.3 billion deemed sale of investment in subsidiary Mynt.
Its core net income stood at P21.2 billion, which is 9 percent higher than the year prior, fueled by the 4-percent increase in net income to P151.5 billion, but this was partially offset by the effects of Typhoon Odette to its total operating expenses of P76.6 billion.