Globe posts 6% rise in core income at billion in 2016

In 2016, solid growth in datarelated products plus robust mobile and broadband subscriber increase drove Globe Telecom consolidated service revenues up 6 percent to R120.0 billion and pushed core net profit by 6 percent to R16 billion although net income dipped 4 percent due to higher depreciation and non-operating charges.

"Despite the heightened market competition, we ended the year on a high note, marked by all-time high quarterly and full year revenues, and record-level Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)," remarked Globe President & CEO Ernest L. Cu.

“In 2017, we are optimistic that we will maintain our growth trajectory as we continue to strengthen our leadership in the digital space, through the use of innovation and partnerships with global content providers. Our aggressive investments in our network are designed to meet the country’s future digital demands,” he added.

The telco's mobile revenues slightly grew year-on-year, at R91.9 billion in 2016 from the R91.2 billion reported a year ago, driven by the continued shift from core voice and SMS in favor of data as more Globe customers adopt the digital lifestyle.

TM, the company’s massmarket brand, registered 3% revenue growth from last year, while Globe Postpaid revenues posted a slight 1% improvement from 2015, partly offset by Globe Prepaid revenues, which posted a year-on-year decline of 1%.

At the end of last year, Globe Telecom’s mobile subscriber base reached 62.8 million, up 12%, driven by the record-level prepaid gross acquisitions despite the increased blended churn rates.

On a product perspective, mobile data is now the biggest contributor to Globe's total mobile revenues, accounting for 38%, outpacing voice, with 37%, despite the industry war in data pricing in the second half of the year.

Mobile data service revenues reached R34.6 billion in 2016, 25% higher than the R27.7 billion reported a year ago. Mobile data traffic grew 44% from 252 petabytes (PB) to 361 PB in the year just ended, as smartphone penetration now reached 61%, given the market’s positive response to Globe Telecom’s expanded data-driven product portfolio.

Consistent with global trends, voice and SMS revenues remain challenged with the continuous migration to Internetbased applications.

The Globe home broadband business likewise sustained its growth momentum at R14.5 billion in 2016, increasing revenues by 28% year-on-year, with total subscriber base now reaching 1.13 million.

The revenue growth was driven by the continued subscriber expansion in fixed wireless (+23%) solutions, given the favorable customer response to Globe home broadband’s latest plan, which was bundled with their choice of premium content and cutting-edge devices.

Globe Telecom’s corporate data business likewise improved year-on-year at R9.9 billion as of end 2016 or 28% higher from the R7.7 billion posted in 2015, as demand for data connectivity continues to surge, impacting customer expansion, circuit count increase and higher usage.

The strong demand for Internet and domestic leased lines, as well as cloud computing solutions, contributed to the revenue growth in the corporate data business.

Bayan’s corporate data revenues contributed to the pie as well as traditional fixed line voice revenues,which posted an 11% increase year-on-year at R3.8 billion as of end 2016 due to the continued popularity of the new home broadband bundled plans.

Globe ended 2016 with close to R50 billion consolidated EBITDA, up 9% from a year ago.