SCUTTLEBUTT

GCash saves the day for Globe

Electronic wallets have become a lucrative business in the digital world, making them a key profit driver for Globe Telecom as revenues from the home broadband business wane.

GCash contributes 12 percent of its pre-tax net income. Globe’s share in GCash parent Mynt’s equity earnings in 2024 reached a record P3.8 billion, an impressive increase of 59 percent from P2.4 billion last year.

GCash also recorded a hefty 85 percent year-on-year increase in loans disbursed and a 101 percent rise in the number of unique borrowers.

The GCash phenomenon provided a cushion for the decline in Globe’s earnings in the fourth quarter.

Home broadband, on the other hand, continues its current downward trajectory with a 5.3 percent decline in revenues, although its rate of decline is showing signs of easing.

Despite home broadband subscribers decreasing to 1.74 million from 1.75 million the previous year, Globe Fiber Prepaid maintains its strong momentum, with a subscriber count reaching 260,000.

Globe posted a miss in its fourth-quarter 2024 earnings by 29 percent as net income declined by 28.5 percent.

On a positive note, AP Securities said 2024 earnings are in line with estimates by 2.2 percent despite a 1.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) decline to P24.3 billion from P24.6 billion the previous year.

The overall slower trajectory in the fourth quarter and 2024 is mainly attributed to lower tower sale gains and the prolonged impact of inflationary pressures. Excluding one-time tower sale gains, 2024 core earnings would have increased by 13.7 percent from a year ago to P21.5 billion from P18.9 billion the previous year.