Reported net income grew 1 percent to P28.1 billion, despite ongoing pressure from legacy services and rising costs, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday.
Revenues, margins
Consolidated gross service revenues increased 4 percent to P155 billion, while data and broadband revenues rose 3 percent to P120.4 billion.
PLDT’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization climbed 3 percent to P80.7 billion, maintaining a healthy margin of 52 percent.
What about Maya?
PLDT noted that Maya, which competes with mobile payments giant GCash, remains on track to become profitable by year-end 2024.
As of end-September, Maya Bank’s deposit balances surged to P36 billion, driven by savings products with competitive interest rates, while its customer base grew to 4.5 million.
Loan disbursements reached P67 billion, boosted by offerings like Maya Easy Credit and Maya Advance, serving 1.4 million borrowers and enhancing financial inclusion.
“Maya wallet’s recent product innovations and expanding offerings position it toward wider financial inclusion and digital transformation nationwide,” PLDT said.
Management’s view
“As we seek growth in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, we must take on an insurgent’s attitude to not simply embrace change but lead it,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, PLDT and Smart chair and CEO.
“We must challenge the wisdom that we have acquired over the years, to consistently rise to meet and exceed the constantly growing demands and expectations of our customers, in order to stay on track toward achieving escape velocity,” he added.
Mobile remains key driver
PLDT’s Individual Wireless segment generated P62.1 billion in revenues for the first nine months of 2024, a 2 percent increase year-on-year.
Mobile data revenues, which account for 89 percent of this segment, grew 5 percent to P55.2 billion. This growth was fueled by new data promos, increased data usage, and expanded LTE/4G site coverage.
Growth in home internet, business usage
PLDT Home posted fiber-only service revenues of P41.7 billion in the first nine months of 2024, a 6-percent increase year-on-year, now comprising 92 percent of total home revenues.
The fixed wireless segment grew 4 percent quarter-on-quarter, while fiber churn rates improved to 1.7 percent, with 228,000 new installs in the third quarter.
PLDT Enterprise reported net service revenues of P36.1 billion, driven by rising demand for core connectivity and ICT services.
ePLDT’s ICT segment grew 10 percent, with notable gains in cloud and cybersecurity services, alongside a 250-percent surge in managed IT services.
