GLOBE Telecom Inc. announced last Monday it signed single-term loan facilities with Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) amounting to P15 billion.
“The loans shall be used to finance the company’s capital expenditures (capex), debt refinancing and/or general corporate requirements,” the listed telecommunications company (telco) said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
As of the first half of 2023, the firm has spent P37.7 billion in capex. The amount represents a 25-percent reduction in capital outlays and is “consistent with the company’s efforts to bring free cash flow back to more sustainable levels,” the telco said
Globe Telecom reported it has set aside $1.3 billion (or about P73.8 billion) in capex this year from $1.9 billion (or about P107.9 billion) in 2022. Globe is further reducing its capex to $1 billion (or about P56.8 billion) in 2024.
“Majority or about 90 percent of the capex spending was allocated to data network builds to meet the consumer’s escalating demand for data,” Globe said.
The telco reported it has built 542 new cell sites and upgraded 5,087 mobile sites to 4G in order to meet the rising data demands of its customers during the first six months of the year. The Ayala-led telco also deployed around 148 thousand fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) lines, significantly lower than last year’s rollout to maximize the utilization of its existing fiber inventory.
Globe Telecom also said in its disclosure that it fired up 356 new 5G sites across the Philippines, increasing its 5G outdoor coverage to 97.44 percent of the National Capital Region and 91 percent of key cities in Visayas and Mindanao.
Globe reported a 27-percent drop in net income in the first half of 2023 to P14.38 billion from P19.68 billion last year. The latter figure was mainly due to the one-time gain that the company recorded in 2022.
Core net income was also down by 10 percent to P9.95 billion from P11.02 billion, as the 3-percent increase in revenues to P89.52 billion cannot fully offset the five-percent climb in cost and expenses to P49.03 billion and the three-percent rise in depreciation costs to P22.89 billion.
Globe has also revised its outlook for 2023, with service revenue guidance for the year changed to “mid-to-low single-digit growth” from “mid-single-digit growth,” citing “extended macroeconomic pressures.”
