Despite the threat of its two major competitors forming a single entity twice the size of Globe, the company said it was now back on a steady growth path, coming off a steep drop in earnings last year.
“From the indications we had in the first quarter, we think the momentum is something we can continue,” Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said at a briefing.
Earlier this week, Globe reported a 6-percent increase in its net income for the first quarter of the year, totaling P3 billion. This came as its subscriber base grew to 27.3 million, or 14 percent up year on year, driving the hike in consolidated revenues to P16.5 billion—up by 8 percent.
The company said the launch of several new products that have attracted new subscribers and kept existing ones loyal to the network has led to the growth in its user base.
“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,” Cu said.
Senior advisor for Globe’s consumer business Peter Bithos said the company would focus on improving its services to ensure that mobile phone users with multiple lines use their Globe numbers more than their accounts with other networks.
The company said it would also invest more on improving its broadband business—seen as the next growth driver for the industry. The company said it would spend $500 million this year to increase its network capacity to cope with the exponential growth in data transmitted over the Internet.
Globe earlier took flak from consumers by implementing Internet usage caps as a way to reduce some subscribers’ habitual heavy downloads, which the company describes as an abuse of its network.
Despite the criticism, the company said the policy freed up its network, improving services for a larger part of its subscriber base. Revenue from the broadband sector now makes up a fifth of Globe’s total earnings.
“The upgrade and modernization of our network infrastructure will also remain a key priority to enable our networks and platforms to quickly adapt to the fast-moving market,” Globe said.
Rival Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) dominates the market with over 46 million subscribers. Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc., which PLDT plans to acquire later this year, has about 15 million users.
