Globe earmarks $650 M for capex this yr

MANILA, Philippines - Listed Globe Telecom Inc., a joint venture between conglomerate Ayala Corp. and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, has earmarked between $600 million and $650 million for its capital expenditures this year

Globe informed the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that the amount would be used for transformation initiatives as well as for the company’s data network including long term evolution (LTE) as well as fixed broadband.

The telecommunications provider said about a third of this year’s budget would be used for trailing capital expenditures payments related to Globe’s transformation initiatives.

Globe’s capital expenditures jumped 44 percent to P28.999 billion last year from P20.124 billion in 2012. About 32 percent of the cost went to one-time spending and investments in international cable systems while 25 percent went to transformation and modernization initiatives.

Furthermore, about 26 percent of the total budget last year were spend for its fourth generation (4G) as well as Tattoo Home broadband while 16 percent went to traditional services including new sites and in-building solutions.

Globe is now embarking on building more sites, boosting capacity, and enhancing performance after rolling out 9,400 kilometers of additional fiber optic cable and firing up 700 4G LTE sites and almost 90 percent 3G coverage providing customers with faster mobile browsing experience.

Ernest Cu, president and chief executive officer of Globe, said last year was a transition year for Globe given the company’s $790 million network and information technology modernization projects.

Data submitted to the PSE showed that Globe booked a nine percent growth in consolidated service revenues to P90.5 billion last year from P82.74 billion in 2012 driven by the continued growth in the demand for data connectivity across the mobile, broadband and fixed line data businesses

“We are happy and encouraged by what we have achieved in 2013, surpassing all our expectations. Our sustained growth momentum is an evidence of the underlying strengths of our superior products and services and the differentiated customer experience we provide,” Cu said.

Globe reported a 42 percent jump in mobile browsing and other data revenues to P11.6 billion followed by broadband revenues that increased by 20 percent to P10.44 billion and fixed line data revenues that grew 13 percent to P4.69 billion.

“We are happy and encouraged by what we have achieved in 2013, surpassing all our expectations. Our sustained growth momentum is an evidence of the underlying strengths of our superior products and services and the differentiated customer experience we provide,” Cu said.