Globe Telecom suffered a double-digit profit decline in the first three quarters of 2020, as pandemic lockdown measures in the Philippines slowed subscriber acquisition and its aggressive network investment weighed on its bottom-line.

Net profit in the nine-month period dropped 10 per cent year-on-year to PHP15.9 billion ($328 million), which the company said was due in large part to an increase in depreciation costs stemming from its network expansion.

Total operating revenue declined 3 per cent to PHP119.6 billion. Mobile service revenue fell 6 per cent to PHP77.3 billion, with voice sales dropping 16 per cent to PHP15.3 billion and SMS turnover plunging 29 per cent to PHP8.6 billion. Mobile data edged up 2 per cent to PHP53.4 billion, accounting for 69 per cent of service revenue.

President and CEO Ernest Cu said in a statement: “We are pleased with the performance Globe delivered this period, especially considering the extraordinary circumstances our country is facing.”

He noted Covid-19 (coronavirus) changed the way it interacts with customers, suppliers and employees, but at the same time created opportunities for it to emerge from the crisis stronger. “We believe, on the back of our continued network investments, we are ready to seize these opportunities to help our customers and the nation succeed in this new environment.”

Subscriber losses
Prepaid subscribers tumbled 20 per cent year-on-year to 75.6 million at end-September, while post-paid users decreased 4 per cent to 2.56 million. The decline in acquisitions was attributed to an extended quarantine imposed by the government.

As of end-September, the operator said the vast majority of its 194 retail stores were back in operation.

On the positive side, both prepaid and post-paid ARPU rose 11 per cent and 4 per cent to PHP92 and PHP854 respectively.

Capex in the first nine months totalled PHP33.4 billion, up 4 per cent from all of 2020 and representing 31 per cent of service revenue during the period.

Cu said it remains committed to delivering on its planned site rollouts for 2020 despite the varying degrees of community quarantines and its limited workforce out in the field.