PLDT sees enterprise business driving growth

PLDT Inc. expects its enterprise business to continue driving growth amid rising demand for connectivity and technology solutions.

“Obviously, it is a very tough market right now, but I also think that we are well positioned to take advantage of the emerging needs of a lot of our customers,” PLDT Senior Vice-President and Enterprise Business Head Patricio S. Pineda III said in an interview with BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the BusinessWorld Economic Forum last week.

Mr. Pineda said the full information and communications technology suite, as well as the company’s strength in international markets, will support overall performance this year.

“All of these things come into play with us being quite competitive,” he said, adding that the strength of PLDT’s data center business will also propel the company’s growth.

For the first quarter, PLDT logged an attributable net income of P9.03 billion, down 8.04% year on year.

Total revenues rose 1.95% to P55.28 billion for the January-to-March period from P54.22 billion a year earlier.

Service revenues increased 2.34% to P53.42 billion from P52.2 billion, accounting for the bulk of the topline. Non-service revenues fell 8.38% to P1.86 billion from P2.03 billion.

Enterprise revenues reached P11.9 billion, driven by sustained demand for connectivity and digital solutions across sectors. Corporate data and ICT revenues grew 1% to P8.8 billion.

At the stock exchange on Monday, PLDT shares rose P40 or 3.25% to close at P1,271 apiece.

Hastings Holdings Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings Inc., holds a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group. — Ashley Erika O. Jose