Globe Telecom is on track to achieve positive free cash flow this year by maintaining around a 20 percent reduction in capital expenditures.
“In terms of our strategy, our guidance for 2025 is quite similar to 2024 and builds on the momentum of the previous year,” Ernest Cu Globe president and CEO said during a virtual briefing with reporters on Friday, February 7.
This continuous capex reduction, perhaps in around 20 percent, is in line with the teloco’s strategy toward a free cash flow improvement and is expected to catapult Globe to free cash flow positive this year.
The company reported a new record high in consolidated gross revenues at P165 billion last year, up 2 percent from P162.3 billion in 2023.
It happened despite the headwinds brought about by several factors, including the broadband normalization, the ECPay deconsolidation, and the prolonged impact of inflation. The situation was compounded by the devastating typhoons in the latter half of the year that weighed on consumer spending.
The mobile and corporate data businesses were the key drivers that gave the telco a new record high in consolidated gross revenues, contributing a combined 83 percent to the total consolidated gross service revenues, up from 81 percent a year earlier.
Mobile revenues increased by 4 percent, while corporate data revenues surged by 11 percent year-on-year.
“We’re optimistic that for 2025, growth and financial sustainability will once again be demonstrated with that closer,” said Cu.
This year the company anticipates a low to mid-single-digit revenue increase from 2024, supported by existing product platforms.
“EBITDA [Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization] margin is projected to stay in the low 50s. Margins will be affected by the growing share of lower-margin data-related products, but cost management efforts will mitigate this impact.” the telco said.
However, Globe’s net income at P24.3 billion last year, was down by 1 percent from P24.6 billion in 2023.
The decline was primarily due to lower sale and leaseback returns in 2024, which impacted one-time gains from tower sales.
In addition, higher depreciation expenses and non-operating charges weighed on Globe’s financial performance, offsetting its strong EBITDA growth.
Globe’s capex spending of P56.2 billion last year, which was 20 percent lower compared with P70.6 billion a year ealirer.
“The 2025 capital expenditure (capex) budget is projected to be under $1 billion. This decrease reflects the company’s focus on optimizing capital deployment and increasing sustainable free cash flow.” the company said.
