Sun.Star Pampanga

Converge doubles net income in 2021, books P7.2 billion

- BY CHARLENE A. CAYABYAB Sun.Star Staff Reporter

ANGELES CITY— Leading fiber internet provider Converge ICT Solutions

Inc., more than doubled its net income to P7.2 billion in 2021 from P3.4 billion the previous year.

Converge’s 2021 income meant a 111 percent growth on the back of record number of port rollouts, continued strong expansion of its residentia­l subscriber base, and recovery of the enterprise business.

Converge reported that it has sustained its robust growth with total consolidat­ed revenue reaching P26.5 billion last year, 69.2 percent higher than the P15.7 billion revenues posted in 2020.

“Our entry into Visayas and Mindanao contribute­d to our aggressive port rollout and continued turn-in of subscriber­s in Luzon and existing markets pushed up our residentia­l business revenues up by 83.2 percent. Our network has now passed 10.9 million homes and we’re covering around 42.5 percent of Philippine households. We’re confident of meeting our accelerate­d goal of reaching 55 percent of all households by 2023,” Converge Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Dennis Anthony Uy said.

The fiber internet company rolled out more than 650,000 ports in the fourth quarter, bringing its total port deployment to 2.4 million in 2021. It also reported quarterly net adds of 115,000 bringing its total residentia­l subscriber count to 1.7 million by year-end, hitting the high end of management guidance.

“We sustained our industry-leading trifecta with another record financial performanc­e in 2021,” Converge President and Co-Founder Maria Grace Uy shared, referring to the company’s 69.2 percent year-on-year revenue growth, 55.9 percent EBITDA margin, and 20.9 percent return on invested capital (ROIC), much higher than the average of broadband players in the Asia-Pacific region.

Uy noted that Converge also maintained its strong credit profile as reflected in the PRS AAA credit rating with Stable Outlook given by

PhilRating­s for its upcoming maiden bond issue. The proceeds of the bond issue will be used to partly fund its capital outlay requiremen­ts this year.

Converge announced that it has earmarked higher capital expenditur­es of P26 billion to P28 billion this year, with bulk allotted to fund the expansion of its access network nationwide and further extension of its fiber backbone. The company spent P25 billion on CAPEX last year.

As of end-2021, the Converge fiber backbone reached 103,000 kilometers, passing through 495 cities and municipali­ties across the country.

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