The Board of Directors of PLDT Inc. (PLDT) today announced that Service Revenues (net of interconnect costs) grew by 2% or ₱1.1 billion to ₱47.1 billion in the first quarter of 2023, led by Home and Enterprise.
Data and broadband, which grew by 6% or ₱2.2 billion to ₱38.5 billion, contributed 82% of consolidated service revenues.
“Because of soaring inflationary pressures, we must strive to attain cost-efficiency and operational excellence in order to provide leveled-up customer experiences while keeping our products and services affordable for our subscribers. We continue with our transformation initiatives to strengthen our core business as we plan for our growth strategies,” said Alfredo S. Panlilio, PLDT and Smart President and CEO.
Driven by higher service revenues, consolidated EBITDA also grew 2% or ₱0.6. billion year-on-year to ₱26.0 billion in the first quarter, due to higher revenues partly offset by the increase in opex, excluding Manpower Rightsizing Program expenses of ₱1.5 billion. EBITDA margin was at 52% for the period. Consolidated EBITDA is trending to again exceed the ₱100-billion mark for 2023.
Telco Core Income, excluding the impact of asset sales and Voyager Innovations, reached ₱8.6 billion, up 5% or ₱0.4 billion from the same period last year, mainly due to higher EBITDA and lower depreciation partly negated by the increase in financing costs. Reported Income was at ₱9.0 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
Consolidated Net Debt at the end of the first quarter of 2023 amounted to ₱220.7 billion while net-debt-to-EBITDA improved to 2.18x from 2.25x at the end of 2022. Gross Debt was at ₱247.7 billion, with maturities well spread out. Only 16% of Gross Debt is denominated in US dollars and 5% is unhedged. PLDT credit ratings from Moody’s and S&P Global remained at investment grade.
