PLDT to finish higher 3Q bottom line, says Pangilinan

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), the country’s largest telecommunications firm, said on Friday it will possibly end the third quarter with higher profits due to stronger demands from its broadband Internet business. “It looks like it’s going to be better than last year," PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan told reporters after the annual meeting of shareholders of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., an affiliate of PLDT. Pangilinan attributed the telephone firm’s growth to the rapid expansion of its broadband Internet business, which is considered as the country’s next growth area. “It’s mainly because of broadband and data revenues." During the first six months of the year, PLDT registered a 10-percent increase in net profits, following the expansion of its mobile subscriber base and the growth in its Internet business. Core profits, which strip out gains or losses from foreign exchange and investment holdings, went up by 2 percent. Pangilinan said he hopes that the mobile subscriber base of PLDT would rack up as the firm continues to slash call and text rates to attract more users. PLDT is also expected to benefit from its shares in the profits of Manila Electric Co., the country’s largest power distributor, which the phone firm co-owns with affiliate Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Pangilinan said. PLDT’s mobile unit, Smart Communications, which has more than 45 million users, enjoys more than 50-percent market share in the telecommunications business. Globe Telecom Inc. and Digitel Telecommunications Philippines Inc. have 25 million and 15 million subscribers, respectively. PLDT is targeting to end the year with a net profit of around P40 billion, slightly higher than its 2009 net profit of P39.8 billion. -- GMANews.TV