Diversified telecommunications company PT&T Corp. said it expects to post a stronger growth this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re confident that in this time of pandemic, telco and IT services sector will thrive, as demand remains strong and is steadily growing. This sector will also be essential to our country’s economic recovery as it provides invaluable help to SMEs and MSMEs that need to restart their businesses,” said PT&T president and chief executive James Velasquez.
PT&T said revenue grew 7 percent in the first six months to P221.11 million from P206.98 million in the same period last year.
The company attributed the growth to the 15-percent increase in subscriber and the 8-percent revenue contribution from IT services portfolio.
Velasquez, a former head of IBM Philippines, said positive catalysts would provide an upside to PT&T’s overall 2021 performance such as the 12-percent economic expansion in the second quarter, a bolstered vaccination program by the government, an expected surge in spending from the 2022 election campaigns and the start of the holiday season.
He said the impact of this month’s re-imposition of the lockdown measure against the Delta variant would be minimal, and the company would be ready with measures if the threat of the Delta variant or more lockdowns would persist.
Another Enhanced Community Quarantine was implemented in the National Capital Region from Aug. 6 to Aug. 20.
PT&T posted a net loss of P26.57 million in the first half, higher than P19.5-million loss it registered in the same period last year after the booking of depreciation for capital expenditure and other rehabilitation-related items.
Core operating expenses grew 11 percent to enable the company to adapt to the new normal, while investing in operations to support the growing business.
PT&T’s board last month approved an increase in the company’s authorized capital stock, not exceeding P11.8 billion from the current P3.8 billion. This is in anticipation of the expansion and development of its business and compliance with the debt-to-equity conversion mandated under the rehabilitation plan.
PT&T has a network reach of 22,800 fiber kilometers in high-growth areas, covering almost 40 percent of the Philippine population.
The company forayed into the IT services space in 2019, offering accessible, enterprise-grade solutions to complement its connectivity portfolio.
PT&T holds a 25-year franchise which allows the company to establish, maintain and operate both wired and wireless telecommunications systems for domestic and international communication in the country.
