Globe to defend 7-year wireless telco leadership

MANILA -Globe Telecom Inc. is ready to defend the crown it has worn for about seven years now as rival Smart Communications Inc. recently declared its aspiration to reclaim the top spot after SIM card registration (module subscriber identity) has reduced its market share gap significantly.

Ernest Cu, chairman and chief executive of the Ayala-led telecommunications company, said in a virtual briefing on Tuesday that the company’s revenue would not be affected by the drop in subscriber numbers, noting that it had secured almost all income-generating consumers.

After the July 25 deadline and five-day grace period for SIM registration, competitor Smart said 52.5 million of its users had complied, just 1.2 million fewer than the 53.7 million Globe. Before that, Globe had 84.75 million SIM cards, far more than Smart’s 66.3 million.

Globe Chief Commercial Officer Issa Guevarra-Cabreira said he was seeing better average revenue per user given the increased demand for connectivity with the return to school and continued reopening of the economy.

“We plan to champion this (mobile market leadership) for years to come,” Cu said.

Globe had outstripped Smart in terms of the number of mobile subscribers since 2016.

“We’ve never focused on how many followers we have…it’s just a byproduct of overall leadership in the industry,” he added.

However, Cu admitted that the company may face some headwinds with the recent downturn in the economy. The telecommunications giant plans to increase its revenue by a “mid to low figure” this year.

Globe’s profits fell 27% to 14.38 billion pesos in the first half from 19.68 billion pesos a year ago due to the lack of a one-time gain from the sale of assets and a higher depreciation charge. INQ

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