Lopez telco arm books P5.2-B core revenue

MANILA, Philippines - Cash-strapped Bayan Telecommunications Inc. (Bayan) of the Lopez family continued to improve its financial bottomline on the back of strong data and voice businesses attracting no less than Ayala-controlled Globe Telecom Inc.

Bayan said in a statement that it booked an eight percent rise in core revenues to P5.22 billion last year due to the substantial growth in the company’s data and voice services.

“Last year was a banner year for us because all of our market groups posted positive growth as compared to 2011,” the company said in a statement.

Rafael Aguado, chief operating officer of Bayan, said one key and very important aspect for the company’s good performance last year could be attributed primarily to its employees.

“Beyond our products and services, it was our core strength – the people of Bayan, and their winning attitude that helped us achieve our targets,” Aguado stressed.

Bayan reported that data service revenues grew 11 percent to P3.56 billion last year driven by the increasing demand for data connectivity and Internet connection.

The company’s DSL subscribers rose 12 percent to 132,000 resulting in a 13 percent growth in revenues from the DSL business to P1.7 billion due to the increased usage of social media applications, the adoption of Internet for education purposes.

On the other hand, the company’s voice revenues from 184,000 subscribers increased four percent to P1.61 billion last year on the back of effective product bundling programs, expansion in select areas, and offering of innovative voice products for the corporate market.

Likewise, Bayan’s business segment grew by 11 percent to P2.44 billion due primarily to a combination of continuing demand for data connectivity and branding for its topnotch quality of accounts management while its consumer segment booked a six percent growth in terms of revenues to P2.19 billion due to the increased demand for DSL broadband and bundled packages.

The company’s core EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) jumped 13 percent P1.72 billion last year.

In a related development, Bayan welcomed the recent successful tender offer bid of Globe Telecom to acquire its outstanding debts from its creditors.