Philippines mobile operator Globe Telecom recorded strong financials in Q2, driven by robust data growth and steady gains in ARPU and mobile subscribers.

The operator’s net income increased 26 per cent year-on-year to PHP5.44 billion ($103 million) on total revenue of PHP37.6 billion, up 11.7 per cent from Q2 2017. A 7.2 per cent increase in service revenue to PHP34.1 billion was driven by steady gains in mobile turnover. Mobile data accounted for 48 per cent of total revenue, up from 42 per cent in the comparable 2017 period.

Ernest Cu, president and CEO of Globe Telecom, said in a statement: “We are encouraged by the positive business momentum…These results validate our strategy in driving the digital lifestyle of our customers. Our efforts to modernise further our network play a critical role in our performance.”

Globe Telecom, with a 51 per cent market share by mobile subscribers, spent about PHP22.9 billion on capex in the first half of 2018. The board recently approved a plan to increase capex for the full year to $950 million from its previous guidance of $850 million.

The operator said 66 per cent of its 39,600 base stations support 4G services.

Its mobile subscriber base increased 9 per cent year-on-year to 65.1 million at end-June, with post paid subs steady at 2.49 million and prepaid numbers growing 9 per cent to 62.6 million.

Prepaid ARPU rose 11 per cent to PHP126, while post paid ARPU was up 1 per cent at PHP1,168.