MANILA, Philippines — Network provider Globe Telecom Inc. attained a new record high in revenue last year, backed by the strength of its core services.
Revenue rose by two percent to a record P165.02 billion in 2024, capped by a four-percent jump in earnings from the mobile segment at P116.71 billion.
The company, however, sustained a one-percent dip in net income to P24.29 billion in 2024 from P24.58 billion in 2023, even as it managed to grow revenue and slash spending.
Globe reported that its depreciation expenses rose by seven percent to P50.47 billion, neutralizing gains made by the telco in growing the business and rebalancing finances.
On the other hand, costs declined by three percent to P78.2 billion, in line with the direction to cut spending.
However, Globe breached its capital expenditure guidance of P55 billion, investing P56.2 billion on network infrastructure last year. Still, the amount was 20 percent lower than the capex in 2023 of P70.6 billion, as Globe shoots to become cash flow positive within 2025.
This year, Globe is allocating a capex of below $1 billion, reflecting the telco’s aim of upgrading its network assets, particularly for data, and still trimming costs to save up on cash.
The telco projects its revenue to grow in the low to mid-single digit this year, driven by the demand boom for connectivity as Filipinos adapt to the digital era.
The management expects margins to take impact from the expanding share of low-cost products like the GFiber Prepaid, but promises that this will be mitigated in the long run.
The telco also sees more opportunities in the non-telco space, especially in e-wallet giant GCash, which delivered a P3.8-billion equity for Globe, up by 58 percent from P2.4 billion in 2023. The equity contributed 12 percent of Globe’s pre-tax profit.
Globe also expects a boost in its data center venture once its projects in Quezon City and Cavite are completed this year.
Globe unit ST Telemedia Global Data Centers Philippines is anticipating its capacity to scale up to 33 megawatts in 2025 and to 52 MW by 2026.
Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said the company’s performance in 2024 shows it is capable of sustaining growth in a risky environment, noting that telcos were hounded by storms in the previous quarter.
Cu also said he is proud of the work that Globe did under his term, as he is scheduled to give up his post in April to turn it over to deputy CEO Carl Raymond Cruz.