MANILA, Philippines — Telco leader PLDT Inc. is seeing more growth from its non-telco units, particularly from digital bank Maya Group, at a time when demand for connectivity products is approaching saturation.
PLDT Inc. chairman, president and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan yesterday said Maya is one of the bright spots for the telco this year, booking a profit of more than P300 million in the first quarter.
As a result, PLDT’s share in Maya’s equity earnings flipped to a gain of P127 million, from a net loss of around P400 million a year ago.
As of end-March, Maya has acquired 6.8 million customers to raise its deposit balance to P44 billion. Moreover, it is becoming a lender of choice for millions of Filipinos, loaning P120 billion to 1.8 million borrowers.
Pangilinan said Maya can profit by as much as P1.2 billion this year, confident that both the lending and payment segments would keep on expanding. However, Pangilinan acknowledged that Maya is still far from achieving the success that e-wallet giant GCash is having.
PLDT’s rival Globe Telecom Inc. collected P1.8 billion in equity from GCash’s parent Mynt in the first quarter, as the e-wallet continued to dominate in digital finance.
PLDT also expects higher revenues from its data center arm VITRO Inc., especially now that its largest facility VITRO Sta. Rosa is up and running.
The telco is taking a step further in sustaining its data center leadership, lining up a new project in General Trias, Cavite, that would cost P40 billion.
Pangilinan also said PLDT is ready for Globe’s challenge to become the most profitable telco in the Philippines under the leadership of Carl Raymond Cruz. Pangilinan praised Globe for leading in the tech space, but said PLDT dusts its rival in pure telco.
PLDT’s net income dipped by eight percent to P9.03 billion in the first quarter, as expenses rose quicker than revenue. The telco’s core income, measured as profit from flagship services, dipped by six percent to P8.78 billion.
The telco booked a two-percent increase in revenue to P55.28 billion, but expenses grew by five percent to P40.55 billion.
Pangilinan said overall, the economy is slow to expand, citing the sub-six percent growth since the third quarter of last year.
