Globe records strong 2022 finish despite spoiled consumer confidence

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7) — Industry giant Globe Telecom ended the "challenging" 2022 on a strong note with earnings swelling by 46% despite declining consumer confidence due to soaring prices and aggressive interest rate hikes.

In a disclosure released Tuesday, Globe said net income last year soared to ₱34.6 billion against ₱23.7 billion posted a year ago as Filipinos' demand for internet connectivity continued to be robust, especially when the government further eased COVID restrictions.

With consumers not pulling back even with rampant inflation, consolidated service revenues hit an all-time high of ₱158 billion, buoyed by mobile and corporate data businesses.

The group's mobile business kept its solid performance with ₱107.5 billion in revenues, thanks to Filipinos' active digital lifestyle. As of end-December, mobile data traffic reached 4,658 petabytes. Globe's mobile customer base also ended at 86.7 million in 2022.

Its corporate data, meanwhile, booked a record revenue of ₱17.2 billion following strong traction from information and communication technology services.

Globe's home broadband business, however, recorded a weaker fourth quarter, ending 2022 with lower revenues of ₱27.1 billion.

But Globe is confident of regaining its momentum in the home broadband market with the introduction of prepaid fiber.

The telco titan, which has been ramping up its presence in the digital space, also saw its non-telco revenues climbing to ₱4.2 billion from 2021's ₱2 billion.

While operating expenses went up by 2% to ₱78.9 billion, the company said the increases were partially offset given its cost management efforts.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization or Ebitda stood at ₱79.1 billion.

"Despite 2022 being a challenging year marked by inflationary pressures, high interest rates and weakened consumer confidence, Globe once again showed resilience. We are happy that the Globe Group closed the year with strong topline and EBITDA growth," Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu was quoted as saying in the filing.

"We also achieved momentous milestones in 2022 where we closed the country's largest ever tower sale and leaseback agreement," he added.