DITO pares losses as subscriber base expands

DITO CME Holdings Corp., the parent company of third telco player DITO Telecommunity, trimmed its net loss to P24.93 billion in the first nine months of the year, improving by P930 million from the P25.86 billion loss recorded a year earlier.

In a stock exchange report on Monday, the company said loss attributable to equity holders of the parent narrowed to P9.65 billion from P11.05 billion, while losses from non-controlling interests widened to P15.29 billion.

Revenues climbed to P14.92 billion from P11.89 billion, mainly driven by higher service revenues of P14.50 billion as DITO Telecommunity continued to expand its subscriber base.

However, total costs and expenses rose to P24.65 billion from P21.68 billion, with depreciation and amortization alone reaching P11.47 billion due to ongoing network rollout. General, selling, and administrative expenses increased to P12.03 billion from P10.17 billion.

DITO CME also booked P12.82 billion in interest expenses and P2.23 billion in foreign exchange losses, further weighing on results.

The company’s capital deficit widened to P95.31 billion as of end-September from P73.39 billion at the end of 2024, while current liabilities exceeded current assets by P90 billion amid persistent liquidity pressure. Total assets fell to P209.33 billion from P218.93 billion.

Despite these conditions, which it acknowledged “indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern,” management said it remains confident it can meet its obligations through continued commercial expansion, cost controls, and available funding.

The Group said it will continue drawing from the remaining portion of its project finance facility secured in September 2023 and cited additional support from Project Coordination Deeds, extended EPC payment terms, and planned shareholder capital infusions.

Cash on hand stood at P763.15 million at end-September, down from P1.18 billion at the start of the year, after a total net cash outflow of P416.38 million. Operating activities generated P3.81 billion, while investing and financing activities resulted in outflows of P3.98 billion and P244.07 million, respectively.