Despite the challenging year, Globe Telecom Inc. remains optimistic it will hit its revenue target this year driven by the continued increase in broadband demand.
“Our guidance remains the same, our revenues still mid-single digit (growth) this year, EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margin of 50 percent on top of spending P70 billion capex (capital expenditure),” said Rizza Maniego-Eala, Globe chief financial officer and chief risk officer, at the company’s virtual press briefing on May 9.
Globe’s consolidated service revenues closed at P37.8 billion in the first quarter this year, up 3 percent from P36.9 billion a year ago on robust data revenue contribution mostly from the broadband segment.
Total data revenues accounted for 79 percent of total service revenues, from 75 percent last year fueled by rising data connectivity demand of consumers for remote working, entertainment, e-commerce and education, the company said.
Globe reported total consolidated EBITDA at P18.3 billion, down 11 percent year-on-year due to higher operating expenses. This led to weaker EBITDA margin to end the quarter at 48 percent, from 56 percent a year earlier.
Despite the lower EBITDA, Globe posted a net income of P7.3 billion in the first quarter, up 11 percent from the same period in 2020.
“Globe is weathering because we’re staple, the industry depends on our service,” said Ernest Cu, Globe president and chief executive officer.
In the first quarter of the year, the company spent a total of P19.1 billion in capex, exceeding last year’s spending by 79 percent. This capex investment represents 51 percent of gross service revenues and 105 percent of EBITDA.
Around 91 percent of the investment went primarily to data-related requirements to support the fast-growing data demand and provide superior data customer experience, the company said.
