Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4) — The controversial ₱33-billion budget overrun of telco giant PLDT has been “largely resolved,” its chairman said Thursday, keeping his bullishness on the group’s growth despite nagging inflationary pressures.
“The capex overrun issues have largely been resolved. It is time in 2023 for PLDT to face forward, and move on,” PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan was quoted as saying in a disclosure to the stock market.
In March, the telco reiterated that its probe found no “no evidence of fraud, intentional concealment, or bad faith conduct on the part of any employee of the company….”
The ₱48-billion ($880-million) capital spending overrun triggered a stock sell-off and threats of US lawsuits. The telco in December said it was probing an over-order of network equipment resulting in the extra expense. The amount was eventually cut down to ₱33 billion after the telco made settlement deals with major vendors.
Pangilinan earlier said majority of the amount involved covered the acquisition of equipment to beef up its network, its 5G infrastructure in particular.
“We should now channel our energies towards keeping the PLDT Group well positioned for growth amidst this challenging macro-economic environment,” the tycoon added.
In the filing, PLDT said it still posted gains despite surging commodity prices that continued to bite into subscribers’ wallets.
Its core income – or profits derived from a company’s main or principal business – in the January to March period hit ₱8.6 billion, 5% higher than the year prior.
Service revenues, driven by its data and broadband segments, also went up by 2% to ₱47.1 billion in the period.
Alfredo Panlilio, PLDT and Smart president and CEO, said the group would focus on attaining “cost-efficiency and operational excellence” to keep its products and services affordable to consumers.
“We continue with our transformation initiatives to strengthen our core business as we plan for our growth strategies,” Panlilio said.
