Globe borrows P7 billion from Mizuho Bank

MANILA, Philippines — Globe Telecom Inc. is borrowing a total of P7.04 billion from Mizuho Bank Ltd. to partly finance its capital expenditures this year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, the Ayala-led telco said it signed P6 billion and $20 million (P1.04 billion) seven-year term loan facilities with Mizuho Bank Ltd.

“The loans shall be used to partially finance the company’s capital expenditures and general corporate requirements,” Globe said.

Globe president and chief executive officer Ernest Cu earlier said the telco’s capex could reach $850 million to $900 million this year to meet the strong demand for bandwidth-intensive content.

Last year, Globe spent P42.5 billion (around $850 million) to support its growing subscriber base and demand for data.

Globe reported a net income of P15.1 billion in 2017, down five percent due to higher depreciation expenses and increased non-operating charges as it recognized the full year impact of the additional costs related to its acquisition of half of San Miguel Corp.’s telco assets.

Excluding the impact of non-recurring charges, one-time gain, foreign exchange gains and mark-to-market changes, Globe’s core net income rose 15 percent to P13.55 billion.