Globe gets P5 billion BDO loan for capex, debt payments

MANILA, Philippines — Telco-to-tech giant Globe Telecom Inc. has borrowed P5 billion from the country’s largest bank to partly fund its capital expenditures and debt payments.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Globe said it has signed a P5-billion loan with BDO Unibank Inc. to raise fresh funds for capex and debt financing.

The term loan facility, Globe said, will also be used to bankroll other corporate requirements.

For the year, Globe has set its capex guidance under $1 billion in line with efforts to bring down spending. At this level, the telco is burning capex at its desired level, and expenses are prioritized on network expansion to keep market leadership in the mobile segment.

As of March, Globe has spent P12.7 billion, up 51 percent from a year ago. Globe said it invested the amount largely on capacity and network enhancement.

“Capex represented 30 percent of service revenues during the period, supporting the company’s improving free cash flow while maintaining a prudent balance sheet,” Globe said.

More than 91 percent of the capex was allocated to data-related projects, as the telco builds up its digital capacity to support growing connectivity demand.

There is an urgency for Philippine telcos to wind down spending, as their profits are taking a hit from the saturation of the subscriber market.

Globe, for one, saw its profit decrease by 20 percent to P5.55 billion in the first quarter. The telco said the decline is primarily due to the absence of one-time gains booked in 2025.

Further, Globe doubled its financing costs to P6.39 billion, covering mainly interest expenses of P4.23 billion, brought about by the telco’s efforts to retain positive cash flow by settling expiring debts. It also sustained P2.01 billion in foreign exchange losses, as the peso sank to new lows.

Still, Globe booked a four-percent growth in revenue to P45.71 billion, lifted by mid-level hikes in its core products on mobile, broadband and corporate.

The telco is also finding ways to pull new subscribers to its side, expanding its customer count to 66.56 million in the mobile segment and 2.24 million on the broadband side.