The Globe Group has announced impressive financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2023 despite the challenging macroeconomic environment that persisted from the previous year. It ended the quarter with consolidated service revenues of P40 billion, a 2% increase from the same period last year, driven mainly by the steady rise in mobile and corporate data, and non-telco revenues.
Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO, expressed his satisfaction with the company’s financial results.
“This performance is a good start to the year particularly given the inflationary pressures that the consumer market is continuing to face. This put us in a promising position for the balance of the year and it is generally in line with the full-year guidance that we provided to the market last quarter,” he said.
Data revenues maintained its steady growth, representing 82% of consolidated service revenues versus 81% for the same period in 2022. This shows the increasing importance of technology and digitalization in the daily lives of Filipinos.
Mobile services continued to be the primary growth driver for Globe, along with the sustained expansion of its ICT business and the robust performance of its non-telco subsidiaries. Moreover, Globe’s non-telco subsidiaries and affiliates realized P1.4 billion in revenue for the first quarter of the year, 80% higher than 2022.
ECPay and Asticom were the largest contributors, representing 1.5% and 0.7% of gross service revenues, respectively.
The company’s Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter reached P20.5 billion, a 4% increase from last year, while its EBITDA margin of 51% exceeded its full-year guidance. Joint ventures and affiliates also added to the bottom line, with net shared equity gains of nearly P450 million or 4.2% of net income.
Cu expressed optimism that the company can sustain its positive momentum through ongoing efforts to manage costs, focus on cash flow sustainability, and provide innovative products and services that meet the evolving needs of our fellow Filipinos.
