PLDT borrows $300 million to refinance debt

MANILA - Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co has borrowed $300 million from foreign banks to refinance existing debts.

On the sidelines of the Philippine Investments Forum 2013, Annabelle Chua, PLDT treasurer on Wednesday, said the fresh loan was signed last January.

Last November, PLDT borrowed P6.20 billion. It also raised P8.80 billion worth of fixed-rate corporate notes to a group of primary institutional lenders to refinance its existing debts.

At end-September, PLDT's total debt stood at $3.1 billion, including the $500 million owed by Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc (Digitel), which PLDT acquired in 2011. Digitel operates Sun Cellular.

In the first nine months of 2012, PLDT's net income fell by 6 percent to P28.7 billion from the previous year's P30.6 billion.  For the third quarter alone, its profit slipped to P9.21 billion from P9.32 billion a year ago.

Consolidated service revenues rose 12 percent to P126.24 billion from P112.27 billion in 2011. In the third quarter, service revenues climbed to P41.52 billion from the previous year's P36.65 billion.

InterAksyon.com is the online news portal of TV5, a member of the PLDT group.

source: interaksyon.com

MVP is Philippines' 'best CEO'

MANILA, Philippines - The chairman of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) emerged as the country’s leading CEO in the 12th annual poll of Asia's top companies by FinanceAsia.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, who is also the president and chief executive of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and chairman and chief executive of Philex Mining Corp. garnered majority of the tallied votes from investors and analysts across Asia to lead the survey in the Best CEO category among Philippine companies.

He also serves as chairman of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and ABC Development Corp., which operates TV5. InterAksyon.com is the online news portal of TV5.

"We are grateful for the continued recognition by the investor community of our efforts to maintain and strengthen our lines of communication to ensure that they are fully apprised of the direction we are taking and that they have ample opportunity to give us valuable feedback," Pangilinan said.

PLDT also led in top categories covering large market capitalization companies for the Philippine poll, including Most Committed to a Strong Dividend Policy for the fourth consecutive year.

PLDT has paid out dividends equivalent to 100 percent of its core earnings, which boosts investors’ view of the company being one of the most liquid in the country.

"This is the fifth year in a row that we have paid out 100 percent of core EPS [earnings per share], a significant achievement when taken in the context of our increased investment levels and heightened competition," Napoleon L. Nazareno, PLDT president and chief executive said.

PLDT also retained its lead in the Best Investor Relations category for its unrelenting commitment to investors, raking in majority of the votes among nine of the country’s top companies for the fourth consecutive year.

PLDT ranked second for both the Best Managed Company and Best Corporate Governance categories while placing third in the poll for Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Philex was also recognized among the top companies in the country for corporate governance and CSR. The mining firm's chief financial officer, Renato Migrino, ranked second in the Best CFO category.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), meanwhile, ranked fifth in the Best Investor Relations category among the nine top Filipino companies on the list.

FinanceAsia is a Hong Kong-based publication reporting on Asia’s financial and capital markets through a daily website and monthly magazine. It is part of the Haymarket Group, the largest privately owned publishing company in the UK, created in part by Lord Heseltine, the former UK deputy prime minister.

According to FinanceAsia, the poll results will be published country by country during the course of the following week, before finally revealing which companies are viewed to be the best managed in Asia in 10 key industries.

source: interaksyon.com

PLDT allots P6 billion to grow TV5, Cignal; telco's 1Q profit down 6%

The board of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has approved a multibillion-peso investment of its wholly-owned subsidiary in TV5 as the network aims to grow its market share by 30 percent by 2015.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT and ABC Development Corp. told reporters that its board approved a P6 billion investment by ePLDT, in the form of Philippine Depository Receipts (PDRs), in TV5 and Cignal TV.

ePLDT will subscribe to PDRs to be issued by MediaQuest Holdings Inc. and the proceeds from subscription will be invested by MediaQuest in TV5 and Cignal.

Of the total, P4.8 billion would be invested in TV5 to finance the state-of-the-art Media Center in Mandaluyong and the remaining P1.2 billion will be used to expand the operation of Cignal.

Pangilinan said TV5 expects to post a loss this year and smaller losses in 2013.

"By 2014, we expect to post a profit," he added.

Ray Espinosa, president and chief executive of TV5, said the network has grown its market share from 2.3 percent in 2007 to 18 percent at the end of 2011 for Metro Manila.

In addition, TV5's market share nationwide grew to 15.6 percent last year from 2.7 percent in 2007.

Espinosa said TV5's target market share nationwide is 30 percent by 2014 or 2015.

Cignal TV, the largest direct-to-home pay-TV operator in the Philippines has over 250,000 subscribers.

Investments in media had historically been made and managed through MediaQuest, a wholly-owned entity of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund.

PLDT's financial investment in the media industry is consistent with its overall strategy of evolving itself from a traditional telco into a multi-media service company.

With the direct investment, MediaQuest will serve as the anchor for the PLDT Group's media offerings through the creation of content, generation of new revenue streams and provision of direct access to overseas Filipino workers worldwide.

Group profit falls 6%

PLDT on Tuesday said its net income fell by six percent to P10.1 billion in the first quarter from P10.7 billion in the same period last year.

Its core profit, which excludes foreign exchange gains or losses and other non-recurring income, amounted to P9.3 billion, lower than the P10.6 billion in 2011.

Revenues rose by 13 percent to P42.8 billion.

The PLDT group’s total cellular subscriber base stood at 66.1 million with net additions of 2.4 million in the first quarter. Its broadband subscribers hit three million.

“Our first quarter results are in line with our expectations that industry stability would return in gradual but quite certain terms. As we continue the complex task of integrating Digitel/Sun Cellular into the PLDT Group, we are heartened by the opportunities for both synergy and growth we see arising. In the meantime, we are pursuing further rationalization measures, which may be somewhat adverse in the short-term but should produce sustainable, longer-term benefits. Similarly, the financial investment in media is important and expected to create value over a longer time frame but is one that is necessary for our growth and transformation,” Pangilinan said.

Napoleon L. Nazareno, president and chief executive of PLDT and unit Smart Communications Inc., said the company is beginning to see early signs of stability with the integration of Digitel.

"We expect a gradual improvement in product yields and overall profitability from the ongoing rationalization on both services and brands front. More importantly, we continue to push our network modernization program even as our subscribers are already experiencing the benefits of our ongoing efforts,” he added.

source: interaksyon.com