Globe eyes high single-digit revenue growth

MANILA, Philippines – Globe Telecom believes it is looking at a mid to high single-digit revenue growth this year, following a number of positive developments. These include a steady growth in subscriber acquisitions, enhanced network capacity, and a sustained positive economic outlook.

Ernest Cu, president and CEO of Globe, said he expects the company’s topline growth in 2014 to be in the mid to high single-digit from 2013 level. He said the company’s mobile, broadband and fixed-line data businesses would perform strongly.

The modernization work Globe has done is also expected to enhance its competitiveness, generating additional business as a result. Globe will be using a sizeable portion of this year’s capital expenditure – $650 million – for enhancements and further expansion of its data network.

“Data remains as the key investment area for Globe given the growth in data that we have seen and are anticipating,” Cu noted.

He added, “This is consistent with our plans to maintain surplus data capacity in advance of significantly growing demand,” with investment involving further rollout of LTE sites in addition to improvements to its fixed broadband network.

Globe’s total revenues last year increased 9% to P90.5 billion from P82.7 billion due to continued demand for data connectivity across its business segments. The company ended the year with 38.5 million mobile subscribers, up from 33.1 million the year previous.

“We remained steadfast in our strategy to grow our postpaid business, even amidst incurring subsidy and re-contracting costs we consider as investments to acquire and retain high-quality postpaid subscribers,” Cu said. More than 51% of the company’s postpaid acquisitions are seen as mid to high average revenue per user (ARPU) subscribers.

Gross subscriber acquisitions in the fourth quarter of last year hit quarterly highs of 8.8 million subscribers, a 19% increase from the prior quarter. This was steered by the acquisitions of Globe’s prepaid and mass market brands.

Cu also said the 7.2% gross domestic product expansion in 2013 would drive revenue growth for Globe. He explained sustained economic growth would be a catalyst for further consumer confidence and strong demand for communication devices and services. – Rappler.com