Dito CME incurs P2.81 billion net loss in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines — Dito CME Holdings Inc., the communications, media, and entertainment arm of Dennis Uy’s Udenna Group, incurred a net loss of P2.81 billion in the nine months ending September on the back of higher operating expenses due to the company’s telco rollout.

Dito CME reported that its operating expenses increased to P1.75 billion during the nine-month period, which was due to the consolidation of Dito Telecommunity Corp. into the company.

Dito CME consolidated the financials of Dito Telecommunity into the company in the third quarter, making it part of the firm’s reporting of nine-month financial results

The rise in operating expenses during the period was attributed to expenses involving the rollout of Dito Telecommunity in various areas nationwide.

Revenues of Dito CME as of end-September stood at P327 million.

“Dito Telecommunity is playing the long game. From day one we did mention already that building a telco from scratch will be very much capital extensive, but the milestones reached in just nine months of operation is encouraging to say the least,” Dito CME president Eric Alberto said.

Dito CME’s effective ownership of Dito Telecommunity is 53.7 percent.

Dito Telecommunity commenced commercial operations last March and has since expanded its presence in over 340 cities and municipalities with over 3,300 towers built and powered.

Over 4,000 towers are under mobilization and are scheduled to be online in the next 12 months.

Since its launch in March, the new telco player has already gained four million subscribers.

“Gaining more than four million subscribers in just over nine months from commercial launch is an affirmation that there is a large segment of the market that would go for an alternative fast, reliable, and widely available mobile service, with product offers that are simple, easy to understand, easy to buy, and specifically caters to the growing needs of our digital savvy consumers,” Alberto said.

As far as Dito CME is concerned, Alberto said the listed company is focused on utilizing all its resources to expand the rollout of the company’s brand-new network and robust IT platform in order to serve customers better.

“Dito CME is more than Dito Telecommunity. In the next few months you shall hear more of our digital initiatives in online learning through Luna Academy, customer data analytics through Unalytics and marketing and media solutions through Acuity Global. These initiatives are now starting to bear fruit and will prove to have strong synergies with Dito Telecommunity,” Dito CME chief operating officer Donald Lim said.