PLDT(US:PHI)2025-02-28 12:10Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - PLDT's service revenue grew by 2% year-on-year to PHP 194.7 billion, driven by Fiber Mobile data and Enterprise ICT [9] - Gross revenue rose by 3% to PHP 208.4 billion, with EBITDA expanding by 4% to PHP 108.5 billion [9][10] - EBITDA margin remained strong at 52%, indicating sustained profitability despite ongoing investments [10][19] - Telco Core income increased by 2% to PHP 35.1 billion, reflecting earnings stability [10][19] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Individual segment revenues rose by 2% to PHP 83.5 billion, with Mobile Data increasing by 5% year-on-year [12] - Home segment revenues reached PHP 60.7 billion, with Fiber-only revenues growing by 6% to PHP 56 billion [14] - Enterprise revenues grew by 3% to PHP 48.4 billion, with ICT services up 15% to PHP 35 billion [17] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Active data users reached 41.3 million, with average monthly mobile data usage per user growing by 5% [12] - PLDT's ARPU of PHP 1,488 remains above industry average, with over 75% of new activations opting for premium plans [15] Company Strategy and Development Direction - PLDT is focused on expanding revenues, managing costs, and improving cash flow generation in 2025 [10] - The company aims to leverage 5G expansion and AI-driven marketing strategies to enhance customer engagement and revenue generation [13][50] - PLDT is committed to sustainability, with a goal of running data centers on at least 40% renewable energy by 2030 [72] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the company's resilience and steady revenue growth despite competitive pressures [36] - The company is focused on cost efficiency while ensuring CapEx is directed towards high-impact areas [36] - Management indicated that they are not yet comfortable providing specific guidance for 2025 core income but expect increases in revenues and profitability [123] Other Important Information - PLDT's net debt-to-EBITDA stands at 2.52 times, with a target to reduce it to 2.0 times in the mid-term [23] - The company retained its investment-grade ratings from S&P and Moody's, reflecting prudent debt management [25] - Maya Bank has shown significant growth, with a customer base increase of 71% year-on-year to 5.4 million [28] Q&A Session Summary Question: What is PLDT's stance on the Konektadong Pinoy Act? - PLDT supports the government's effort to provide open access and requests equal treatment with data transmission providers [79][81] Question: What initiatives are driving customer retention in the Home segment? - PLDT Home focuses on competitive offers, increasing speeds, and improving service quality to maintain a low churn rate of 1.7% [92] Question: How did PLDT drive higher ARPU in Q4 while peers saw a decline? - PLDT achieved higher ARPU through improved sales and marketing infrastructure and effective 5G rollout [99] Question: What is the reason for subscriber losses in prepaid during Q4? - The decline was due to a year-end cleanup of subscribers [127] Question: Can you elaborate on the GPU-as-a-Service offering? - The GPU-as-a-Service offering is in early stages, with discussions ongoing with enterprises to explore use cases [132]