“There will be no effect at all [regarding the latest movements of key officials of the company]. Everything goes on as normal. Strategies are solidly in place and will continue to be implemented,” Globe president Ernest Cu told the BusinessMirror in a text message.
In an earlier statement, Globe said consumer sales head Ferdinand dela Cruz will be replaced by Ramon Ralph Matriano effective July 1. Also on that date, the appointment of Chee Loo Fun, a Malaysian, as senior adviser for consumer marketing takes effect. This, as Menchi Orlina, who currently heads consumer marketing, will leave the company in August. She is immigrating to the United States.
De la Cruz moves to a key leadership position within the Ayala group of companies. He will serve as the group director for the east zone business operations of Manila Water Co.
De la Cruz’s replacement is Ramon Ralph Matriano. He will be tasked to lead the sales and distribution team of the consumer group. He will also be responsible for the development of the cellular firm’s short-, medium- and long-term sales and distribution strategies for the consumer group and the assessment or organizational performance against both the annual and long-term strategies.
Matriano has two decades of experience in sales, marketing and general management in local and multinational companies, including with Coca-Cola and Universal Robina Corp.
Cu said in an earlier statement that Globe remains focused on differentiating through superior customer experience, and introducing more compelling and relevant products to include not just core services such as voice and SMS, but also innovations to develop the nascent but highly promising market for mobile Internet.
“Our earlier programs are already translating to improvements in our financial results. This will provide us the momentum to take on greater challenges ahead, with the market consolidating and Globe now up against an even larger competitor,” said Cu, who was referring to the impending consolidation of rival Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. with Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc., the No. 3 mobile phone firm in the country.
Globe is prioritizing the upgrade and modernization of its network infrastructure to enable it to quickly adapt to the current fast-moving market.
Its net income in the first quarter of the year stood at P3 billion, 1-percent higher than the results posted in the same period last year but 30-percent higher than last quarter. Excluding foreign exchange and mark-to-market gains and losses as well as nonrecurring items, core net income was 6-percent higher than last year.
Revenues rose by 8 percent to P16.5 billion from P15.2 billion.
The company said growth momentum in the mobile business was sustained, resulting in service revenues of P13.1 billion, 4-percent higher than the P12.5 billion recorded last year. The fixed-line and broadband business likewise posted strong revenue performance, surpassing last year’s level by percent to close at P3.4 billion.
Globe has 27.3 million subscribers at end-March this year.
