PLDT sustains growth in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT Inc. continued to sustain its growth in the first quarter, its chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

“It will be good. Ahead of last year,” Pangilinan said when asked about PLDT’s first quarter results.

PLDT’s financial results will be announced on Thursday.

Pangilinan earlier said this year is the start of a new era for the company, following steady growth in revenues and profits in recent years.

PLDT is coming from a strong financial performance in 2021, bannered by an eight percent year-on-year increase in telco core income to P30.2 billion, which was ahead of earnings guidance of  P30 billion.

This was achieved behind an all-time high consolidated EBITDA, which also grew eight percent year-on-year to P96.2 billion driven by higher service revenues.

PLDT also posted in 2021 its highest full year consolidated service revenues at P182.1 billion, a six percent improvement year-on-year.

PLDT is undertaking efforts to improve its free cash flow by increasing revenues, rationalizing capex, reducing costs and managing its cash position.

For this year, PLDT’s consolidated service revenues is targeted to grow by mid-single digit, while telco core income is expected to reach between P32 billion and P33 billion.

EBITDA, meanwhile, is seen hitting over P100 billion for 2022.

PLDT-backed end-to-end digital financial services platform PayMaya last Friday announced its rebranding into Maya, while also officially launching a digital bank called Maya Bank.

The launch of Maya comes on the heels of the recent $210 million funding round of Voyager Innovations, the parent company of both PayMaya and Maya Bank.

The recent fundraising propelled Voyager’s valuation to unicorn plus status.

As the only all-in-one money platform in the Philippines, Maya is uniquely positioned among e-wallet, bank, and fintech platforms, serving all segments of consumers and enterprises.