Bayan incurs P1.57-B loss in H1

Bayan Telecommunications posted a net loss of P1.57 billion in the first half of the year, a reversal from a net income of P414 million in the same period last year, as the weaker value of the peso resulted in unrealized foreign exchange losses for the Lopez-owned comapny.

However, the company posted higher revenues of P3.07 billion during the period, an 18-percent improvement from the P2.6 billion generated in the same period last year.

Bayan reported strong revenue performance from its voice business, driven by the impressive take-up of its wireless landline service and from its data and Internet business buoyed by strong demand for DSL (digital subscriber line) and corporate data services.

Bayan chief executive consultant Tunde Fafunwa explained that since the launch of the new Bayan Telecommunications brand in 2007, they have anchored their initiatives on the belief that being the best telecommunications provider in meeting customer expectations need not necessarily equate to being the biggest in terms of resources. 

“As our business results as well as various customer research shows, we are on track towards fulfilling our goal,” he said. 

Revenues from voice services grew 18 percent to P1.9 billion as of end-June 2008 from P1.6 billion last year.

Meanwhile, revenues from data services increased 19 percent to P1.2 billion from P992.5 million in the first half of 2007. Data revenue growth was spurred by a 36-percent growth from DSL and Internet services, as subscribers grew 50 percent to end at more than 60,000 by the end of the first semester.

Bayan’s total subscriber base covering wired landline, wireless landline, DSL and data grew 28 percent, ending at about 500,000 in June 2008.

The company also reported that Bayan wireless landline (BWL) revenues grew 366 percent and now accounts for 23 percent of the total revenue of Bayan, from only 10 percent during the same period last year. 

Officials noted that the major initiatives behind the revenue growth are focused selling activities, improved quality of service and a strong marketing push such as the Free 100 plan launched last April.

BWL offers unlimited local calling and texting within a metro area and free BWL-to-BWL and BWL to Bayan landline calls and texts nationwide. It also offers standard rates for calls to cell phones (P6.50 per minute) and one of the lowest IDD rates in the market today, Fafunwa emphasized.

He stressed that the impact of the wireless landline business goes beyond Bayan’s bottom line and into the lives of the consumers amidst a shaky economy highlighted by high inflation rates and unstable oil prices. — Mary Ann Reyes