PLDT posts 3% growth in telco income in 1H

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT Inc. recorded a 3% growth in its telco core business in the first six months of 2024, posting an income of P18 billion, driven by strong growth across its major business segments

In the firm's disclosure on Tuesday, PLDT said the recorded core income is P0.5 billion higher than in the same period in 2023.

Consolidated service revenues similarly rose 3% year-on-year to ?96.9 billion.

Data and broadband revenues, which now account for 83% of total service revenues, grew 4% to ?80.5 billion in the first half.

"Even as we continue to face challenges—among these geopolitical uncertainties, significant gravity in the telco space, and an increasingly competitive telco landscape—we remain determined to do our best to grow the business," Manuel V. Pangilinan, PLDT's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

This growth was amid “the impact of asset sales and losses” from PLDT’s fintech subsidiary Maya Innovations Holdings.

The company's EBITDA, which measures earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, increased by 3% or P1.8 billion compared to the same period last year, reaching P53.9 billion in the first half of 2024. The EBITDA margin stood at 52% for the period.

PLDT's network investments continue to expand its reach. Some key numbers as of June 2024:

• Fiber infrastructure covers over 18 million homes passed
• 5G and 4G networks blanket 97% of the population
• Fiber subscribers reached 3.2 million
• Mobile subscribers hit 60.8 million

Capex for the first half amounted to ?35.1 billion, with capex intensity ratio at 34%.

Maya turns cashflow positive

Despite the impact on PLDT's core income, financial services company Maya turned "cashflow positive" in the second quarter, with loan disbursements worth P46.8 billion life-to-date as of end-June 2024.

"Maya's banking user base has soared, reflecting its strong market strategy and product appeal," PLDT said.

The subsidiary's deposit balances climbed to P32.8 billion by June 2024, while the number of borrowers increased to 1.2 million and bank customers reached four million.

Fiber revenues climb 7%

PLDT Home reported fiber-only service revenues of P27.6 billion in the first half of 2024 — a 7% increase from the previous year, adding an extra P1.8 billion.

Fiber-only services now make up 92% of PLDT Home's total revenues of P30.0 billion for the period.

This year, PLDT Home has ramped up its port rollouts and accelerated the pace of fiber installations, leading to a 20% increase in installations between May and June.

These efforts, combined with improvements in product launches and digital services, boosted the fiber average revenue per unit to P1,500 in the second quarter of 2024, higher than the previous year.

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Note: Manuel V. Pangilinan is the CEO of PLDT. A unit under PLDT's media conglomerate has a majority stake in Philstar Global Corp., which runs Philstar.com. This article was independently produced following editorial guidelines.