Converge fiber expansion focuses on Leyte, NegOcc

CEBU, Philippines —  Fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc., identified Negros Occidental and Leyte as its focus areas for expansion this year, at the back of the company’s aggressive move to connect Filipino households online.

During the company’s first quarter 2022 financial and operations media briefing held early this week, Converge CEO and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy announced that Negros Occidental and Leyte will get much of the company’s attention this year, along with other areas in Luzon that are not yet covered by Converge’s fiber optic infrastructure.

Uy believes that despite the rise and fall of inflation, the digital shift will continue, in fact more people will be needing fixed broadband services at home, regardless of social status.

Converge chief operating officer (COO) also expressed the company’s confidence to government authorities, like the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to manage the inflationary pressures saying “BSP is poised to take action,” on this matter.

Thus, Uy said Converge is making doubly sure to put their ground works in places across the country, where connectivity is weak, if not absent.

Meanwhile, Converge reported that the company grew its revenues by 40 percent to P7.75 billion in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year, owing the continued strong residential subscriber increase and accelerating demand from enterprise clients.

Converge registered gross subscriber adds of 188,000 during the quarter, up 15% from the last quarter in 2021, leading to a cumulative subscriber count of 1.8 million, higher by 53% compared to its year-ago level.

Meanwhile, core net income grew to almost P 2.0 billion in first quarter 2022 representing a core net income margin of 25.4 percent.

“We are seeing a solid growth of our financials in the first quarter of 2022 and we expect to hit our full-year targets as we remain aggressive in our network rollout and marketing activities both in the residential and enterprise segments,” noted Uy.

Further propping up revenue growth is the continued increase in its Enterprise business which encompasses small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Corporates, Large Enterprise, and Wholesale. The reopening of the economy and gradual thriving of SMEs has aided the segment’s growth.

Revenues for the Enterprise business amounted to P935.5 million in Q1 2022, 25 percent higher versus P749.7 million in Q1 2021. SMEs contributed 20 percent to the total, and by itself grew by 118 percent year on year. SME subscribers of Converge reached 25,810 as of March 21, 2022 - a growth of 200 percent.

“The revival of the economy and the return of businesses - especially SMEs - has given our enterprise business a push in the first quarter of the year. Moving forward, we hope to offer more value to SMEs as they continue to recover,” said Converge President, Chief Resource Officer, and Chief Risk Officer Maria Grace Y. Uy.

Converge continues to ensure Filipinos enjoy high availability, aggressively rolling out its fiber ports in first quarter 2022 and reaching 6.5 million ports as of March 2022. This puts it on track to reach the accelerated target of 7.5 million to 8 million ports by 2023.

Nationwide household coverage as of Q1 2022 is at 47 percent In terms of homes passed, 12.2 million homes in the Philippines are serviceable by Converge, which is 70 percent higher than the same period in 2021.