PHILIPPINE Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PT&T) trimmed its net loss in the first quarter by 23.4% after revenues from its broadband business improved.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, the listed company said it had incurred a net loss of P15.60 million for the first three months, down from the P20.36 million it reported during the same period last year.
PT&T’s total revenues for the quarter stood at P107.38 million, an improvement of 38.5% from the previous year’s P77.56 million.
“The company ended the quarter with more than 1,800 data services circuits, notable broadband connections which is a key performance indicator for an increase of 30% over the same quarter of the previous year,” the company said.
The listed company attributed its net loss to additional expenses such as “recognition of the legal interest rate of 6% per annum on unsettled obligations as directed by the Rehabilitation Court, the increases in operating expenses and increase in depreciation as the company invests in more property and equipment to support the business.”
PT&T remains keen on its plan to provide mobile services in the country since the penetration of smartphones continues to grow and the advent of 5G technology provides an ability for the company to enhance various applications.
It said it was also studying the latest concepts in implementing “vizualization of network components into data centers.”
“This will expectedly reduce the numbers of network elements deployed throughout the country and will substantially reduce cost and implementation period,” it said.— Arjay L. Balinbin
