DITO FY23 net loss: P8.1-B (30% improvement)

DITO CME [DITO 2.38, up 7.7%; 602% avgVol] [link] posted a FY23 net loss attributable of P8.1 billion, which is a 30% improvement over its FY22 net loss attributable of P13.8 billion. Revenues were up 54% to P11.2 billion, with the dominant contribution coming from DITO’s main subsidiary, Dito Telecommunity. DITO’s average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) was P128, which is a 54% increase from the P83/user/month it generated in revenue in FY22. DITO’s subscriber count stood at 9 million at the end of 2023, which was down 40% from the 15 million subscribers that it reported at the end of 2022. DITO booked P5 billion in forex gains on its massive debts denominated in US Dollars and Chinese Yuan. DITO said that it will attempt to raise funds through a follow-on offering in the first half of 2024 with the proceeds going toward “the Group’s telecommunications and digital businesses funding requirements.”

MB bottom-line: What’s there to say about DITO that hasn’t already been said? They’re seemingly building out their network as per the conditions of their franchise, and from a technical perspective, the network they’ve built (so far) seems to be performing very well. Yes, they got to book a P5 billion gain as the forex winds blew in the right direction, but that’s only a 70% recovery of the P7.2 billion it lost on its forex debt the year before, and the FY24 forex winds do not appear to be blowing in DITO’s favor. Yes, they have a higher ARPU, but how do we analyze that against their subscriber base that mysteriously lost 6 million subscribers over the past year? Yes, they’re planning to raise some money in a follow-on offering in the next couple of months, but with rates not going anywhere, most analysts are not optimistic about the PSE’s near-term prospects so they might be selling into a weak market. DITO’s stock is up 15% off of its all-time post-Dito Tel infusion low that it set last week, but it’s still down 12% year-to-date and down 35% from its October 2023 intra-year high of P3.69/share. 

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