Philippines mobile operator Globe Telecom reported a strong start to 2018, with double-digit profit growth and healthy gains in mobile revenue and ARPU across both prepaid and post paid subscribers.

The operator’s net profit increased 18 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter to PHP4.5 billion ($86.8 million) due mainly to strong EBITDA growth which more than offset increases in depreciation expenses.

Consolidated service revenue grew 8 per cent to PHP33.2 billion for the first three months of 2018. The operator said the growth was driven by strong demand for data-related products across all segments, particularly video streaming and on-demand entertainment. Data sales accounted for 58 per cent of total revenue in the period, up from 53 per cent in Q1 2017.

Mobile turnover increased 9 per cent year-on-year to PHP26 billion, with mobile data revenue rising 26 per cent to PHP12.6 billion. Mobile data made up 48 per cent of total mobile service revenues, compared with 42 per cent a year ago. Mobile voice revenue fell 2 per cent to PHP7.76 billion, while mobile SMS revenue dropped 5 per cent to PHP5.66 billion.

Globe’s mobile subscriber base reached 63.3 million at end Q1, up 8 per cent from the same period last year.

Post paid ARPU increased 3 per cent to PHP1,195, which it credited to its ongoing retention efforts to keep quality subscribers. Globe prepaid ARPU was up 12.6 per cent year-on-year to PHP125 at end March.

Globe spent PHP6.6 billion on capex in Q1, with 64 per cent allocated to data service requirements. It added 508 LTE sites in Q1 to take its 4G total to about 25,600.

For the full year, Globe forecasts consolidated revenue to increase by a low single-digit figure from 2017.

Globe and rival Smart Communications, the mobile unit of PLDT, traded places as the market leader by mobile connections over the past two years, with each holding a near 50 per cent share at end-March according to GSMA Intelligence.