PLDT Inc. said its capital expenditure (capex) will hit at least P46 billion next year as the company works to improve its infrastructure. The amount is higher than the P38 billion in capex for the year.
PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, however, warns that the company’s profitability will take until 2019 to recover as it spends over the next two years to boost its network. From this year through 2018, its profitability will be flattish to down, Pangilinan said.
“We’re looking at P46 [billion] to P48-billion capex for 2018 or do we push it further than that because we want to have an affirmative response to the criticism being leveled at the industry that the services is lousy,” Pangilinan said in a news briefing on November 9. “I think we can handle P46 billion out of our cash flow.”
PLDT, meanwhile, is hiking its core profit guidance this year after seeing positive financial results in the first three quarters, while also indicating plans to ramp up spending next year to further beef up its network.
“With two months to go before the end of the year, we have a firmer handle of what the full year results are likely to be. We raise our recurring core income guidance—before ‘exceptionals’—to P22 billion, from P21.5 billion,” Pangilinan said.
PLDT’s recurring core income, which excludes gains from asset sales, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization or Ebitda adjustments and related tax adjustments, posted a 5-percent year-on-year increase in the nine months ending September to P17.4 billion.
Consolidated core income for the period rose 7 percent to P23.2 billion. This includes gains from the sale of the company’s shares in Beacon Electric (P6.9 billion) and SPi technologies (P1.4 billion).
1 comment
If you want good internet, get the one thru cable. The one thru data or pocket wifi is crap.