Globe Telecom net income falls 76% in Q1

Globe Telecom's net income fell 76 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2013 to P656 million, the company reported Wednesday. The telco's service revenues grew by 6 percent year-on-year to P21.4 billion and its core net earnings by 13 percent to P2.7 billion during the period, though its consolidated service revenues declined by about P50 million from the previous quarter, and mobile revenues were down by 1 percent, largely due to a decrease in mobile voice services. Consolidated EBITDA (earnings before income tax, depreciation and appreciation) was at P8.8 billion, about P150 more year-on-year as increased subsidy and operating expenses offset the gains from the top line. To partly finance its 2013 capital expenditure requirements and pre-pay debt, the telco's board of directors approved its plan to issue P7 billion in retail bonds this year.   The company is in the midst of a $790-million modernization program that includes expanding its fiber optic network, with more than 6,000 kilometers of cable having been added to its existing fiber optic infrastructure. It expects to finish its submarine fiber connection  to Coron Island by the end of the month to add to its existing sumbarine fiber optic links to Boracay and Palawan. — BM, GMA News