PLDT Inc.'s Consolidated Gross Service Revenues Rose 4% to P103.4B in H1-2024

PLDT Inc. (PLDT) announced that its Gross Service Revenues grew by 4% or P4.2 billion to P103.4 billion, while Consolidated Service Revenues (net of interconnect costs) grew by 3% or P2.4 billion to P96.9 billion in the first half of 2024. Data and broadband, which grew by 4% or P3.0 billion to P80.5 billion, contributed 83% to Consolidated Service Revenues. Excluding the drag from legacy revenues, Consolidated Service Revenues were higher by 7%.

“Even as we continue to face challenges—among these geopolitical uncertainties, significant gravity in the telco space, and an increasingly competitive telco landscape— we remain determined to do our best to grow the business,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, PLDT and Smart Chairman and CEO.

Consolidated EBITDA grew by 3%, or P1.8 billion, year-on-year to P53.9 billion in the first six months of 2024. EBITDA margin was at 52% for the period. 

Telco Core Income, excluding the impact of asset sales and losses from Maya Innovations Holdings, reached P18 billion, up by 3% or P0.5 billion from the same period last year.

Reported Income was stable at P18.4 billion in the first half of 2024.

Telco Core EPS was at P83, while Reported EPS reached P85. Dividend payout of 60% of Core EPS was approved by the PLDT Board also today, translating into P50 dividends per share.

Consolidated Net Debt as of end-June 2024 amounted to P252.7 billion, while Net Debtto-EBITDA stood at 2.38x. Gross Debt stood at P265.4 billion, with maturities well spread out. 15% of Gross Debts are denominated in U.S. dollars and 5% are unhedged. PLDT credit ratings from Moody’s and S&P Global remain at investment grade.

PLDT was cited among 38 Filipino firms in the maiden Fortune Southeast Asia (SEA) 500 list, which ranks the largest companies in Southeast Asia in terms of total revenues for the 2023 fiscal year. PLDT emerged as the top Philippine telco to land on the list, and the 6th largest telco in Southeast Asia. It took 11th place as the highest performing Philippine company, and 97th place across all sectors in the regional rankings.

PLDT is also the sole telco partner in the Philippines for the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Digital Transformation Centres (DTC) Initiative in the Philippines, which is implemented by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). Through this collaboration with the ITU and the DICT on the DTC Initiative, the PLDT Group renews its commitment to driving digital innovation to unlock sustainable progress for all Filipinos. 

PLDT’s Individual Wireless segment posted revenues of P41.9 billion in the first half, higher year-on-year by 4% or by P1.7 billion.

Mobile data revenues, which now account for 89% of total Individual Wireless revenues, grew by 8% or P2.6 billion to P37.1 billion year-on-year. 

Active data users stood at 40.5 million, with average data usage per subscriber being at 11.6 GB, versus 10.5 GB in the same period last year. Mobile data traffic increased by 11% year-on-year to 2,641 Petabytes.

In Q2 2024, Smart launched eSIM upgrades for physical SIMs and the TNT Tiktok Saya product. To drive 5G adoption, Smart launched device financing for 5G phones with various bank partners.

Initiatives to accelerate growth momentum for the segment include best value offers and geo-targeted campaigns, leveraging site roll outs and capacity expansion, and the transformation of customer care into a tech driven center of excellence.

As an official broadcast partner of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Smart enabled Filipinos to join the journey of Filipino Olympians via a comprehensive live digital coverage of the Games via the Smart LiveStream App which broadcast the Games 24/7 for free, alongside the Smart Sports social media page, which also streamed select events. PLDT and Smart have also been longtime supporters of Filipino athletes in their global quest for excellence in their respective sports, including champion gymnast Carlos Yulo, who won two Olympic gold medals in Paris; boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas; and Smart Omega Empress, the Smart-backed all-female Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) esports team who won the recent MLBB Women’s Invitational 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

As of the end of June 2024, Smart had registered 60.8 million mobile subscribers.

PLDT Home posted fiber-only service revenues of P27.6 billion in the first half of 2024, marking a 7% year-on-year increase, or an incremental P1.8 billion. Fiber-only revenues now account for 92% of total PLDT Home’s first half 2024 revenues of P30.0 billion.

Total fiber subscribers as of end-June 2024 stood at 3.2 million, driven by PLDT’s Fiber network now spans over 1.15 million cable kilometers of fiber covering over 20,000 barangays nationwide, making it the largest in the country.

PLDT Home re-accelerate port rollouts starting this year. In tandem with this, it focused on improving the pace of fiber installations. These should translate to higher gross adds going forward. From May to June, PLDT saw a 20% increase in fiber installs. 

Innovative product launches and enhanced digital services have driven an increase in Fiber average revenue per unit (ARPU) to P1,500 for 2Q 2024 - higher compared with the previous year. PLDT’s renewed focus on quality of service has also delivered an industry-best churn rate of 1.52% in the second quarter of 2024.

On the back of the launch of the country’s first Gigabit Fiber plans that offer ultra-fast connectivity speeds of up to 10Gbps last February, PLDT makes home internet accessible to more families through affordable and flexible payment solutions on both Fiber and fixed wireless technologies.

For a postpaid option, Fiber Plan 899, provides families with unlimited fiber at speeds up to 35Mbps, making it an attractive option for those seeking reliable internet at home. 

Furthermore, PLDT Home has expanded its prepaid offerings, allowing even more households to enjoy broadband connectivity. Customers can experience Prepaid Fiber for only P99 for a full day of unlimited fiber internet access. For those needing instant internet solutions, the Prepaid Home WiFi device powered by LTE is available for as low as P995, inclusive of 15 days of unlimited WiFi.

PLDT Home is also enhancing its Fiber Unli All plans. This all-in-one broadband service bundles Fiber, Cignal, and Smart mobile calling, providing users with faster fiber speeds and an enhanced UnliFam calling circle, which allows for unlimited calls between landline and mobile, as well as mobile-to-mobile calls for up to five (5) enrolled Smart or TNT SIMs.

As PLDT Home continues to innovate and expand, it will remain dedicated to providing families across the Philippines with reliable and high-quality internet services so Filipinos can live better lives at home.

PLDT Enterprise, the corporate business arm of PLDT, delivered strong results in the first half of 2024, achieving P24.0 billion in service revenues. This performance was driven by consistent and accelerating growth across its core connectivity and ICT business segments.

Growth in the segment were registered for core connectivity including SD-WAN and fiber revenues, Accelerating growth was also recorded in revenues from Application-toPerson (A2P) and Internet of Things (IoT).  

On the digital solutions front, the growing adoption of data center services and customerattuned delivery of cloud solutions continue to drive the growth of ePLDT, the ICT subsidiary of PLDT. Robust growth was driven by cloud technology services, cybersecurity solutions, and Managed IT Services. 

VITRO Inc., the data center subsidiary of ePLDT, has seen increases in colocation revenues in the first half of the year. VITRO Santa Rosa (VSR), the country’s largest hyperscale facility, was energized in July and will soon serve telcos, enterprises, and hyperscalers, with an initial power capacity of 20MW by the end of the year. Once fully operational, VSR will double the PLDT Group's total facility capacity to about 100MW. This expansion underscores the PLDT Group's value as a critical infrastructure asset in the Philippines' digital transformation landscape.

PLDT Enterprise is committed to the success of its customers by providing solutions that matter. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and fostering digital transformation, PLDT ensures its customers to thrive in an increasingly connected world.

The PLDT Group’s fiber footprint remains unparalleled and the most extensive in the Philippines. Homes passed reached 18.13 million in 71% of the country’s towns and 91% of total provinces.

Smart’s combined 5G/4G network covers around 97% of the material population.

Capex for the first half of 2024 amounted to P35.1 billion, compared with P40.8 billion last year. Capex intensity ratio (capex as a percentage of service revenues) was at 34%, versus 41% last year.

Maya’s banking user base has soared, reflecting its strong market strategy and product appeal. As of end-June 2024, deposit balances grew to P32.8 billion, driven by Maya’s rewarding proposition of innovative savings products and higher interest rates linked to everyday spending. Meanwhile, the number of borrowers surged to 1.2 million, and bank customers increased to 4 million. 

The company has scaled its lending profitably, with Maya Bank turning cashflow positive in the second quarter of the year. Loan disbursements life-to-date rose to P46.8 billion as of end-June 2024, and this is expected to grow with strategic initiatives such as device financing with PLDT and Smart, and loan channeling with Tala.

Maya also secured an exclusive voting partnership with the top reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother. Through our app, viewers can vote to save their favorite housemate while simultaneously promoting financial education and fostering a culture of savings.

As Maya scales its banking business, it also solidifies its position as the Philippines’ digital payment backbone. Maya is the number one processor of payment transactions for credit and debit cards and QRPH transactions for consecutive years, based on Visa and BancNet data.

“With the all-time highs delivered in recent periods behind us, we turn to the future that we are tasked to build for PLDT with careful optimism. As we continue our pursuit of higher shareholder values, our focus on exceptional service to our customers remains intense. We continue to be confident that, as before, we will make it through with the perseverance, dedication, and innovation of our people,” Pangilinan said.

PLDT is the Philippines’ largest integrated telco company. Through its principal business groups – from fixed line to wireless – PLDT offers a wide range of telecommunications and digital services across the Philippines’ most extensive fiber optic backbone, and fixed line and cellular networks.

PLDT is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE:TEL) and its American Depositary Shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:PHI). PLDT has one of the largest market capitalizations among Philippine listed companies.