PLDT Inc. is in talks with another potential foreign investor after negotiations with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners lapsed without an extension, the second time discussions over its data center assets have ended without a deal.
“We're in discussions at the moment with another potential foreign investor that will come out, so we also will be thinking about this position in data centers,” PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said at a media briefing on Thursday.
The company previously explored a sale with Japan’s NTT but did not proceed.
Pangilinan said PLDT has other ways to reduce debt without selling its data center business, noting that the company has excess assets that could be monetized.
“Well, we can reduce our debts without selling the data center business, right? I mean, we can,” he said. “The excess assets that we have that were presented to the board this morning, perhaps the number of them seems to be very low.”
He added that debt reduction would depend on the valuation of the data center business.
“It depends on how much we sell our data centers, right? So, never mind, there are means. There are ways by which we can reduce debt by selling certain assets that are critical or necessary for Smart,” he said.
PLDT aims to generate free cash flow after covering interest expenses, dividends, and profits.
“The main mandate is to be able to show that we can generate free cash flows, net of interest expense, net of dividends, and net of profits,” Pangilinan said.
He acknowledged that PLDT is not yet free cash flow positive for 2024 but expects improvements in the coming years.
“We still are not have free cash flow for 2024. For 2026, we're quite comfortable that we can generate free cash flow,” he said.
PLDT’s net income rose 21 percent to P32.3 billion in 2024, driven by strong data and broadband revenues.
Excluding asset sales and losses from Maya Innovations Holdings, core income edged up 2 percent to P35.1 billion. Consolidated service revenues, net of interconnect costs, grew 2 percent to P194.7 billion, with data and broadband accounting for 83 percent after rising 3 percent to P162.1 billion.
The individual wireless segment posted P83.5 billion in revenues, up 2 percent, as data revenues increased 5 percent to P74.4 billion. PLDT ended the year with 41.3 million active data users, a 6 percent increase, while mobile data traffic rose 9 percent to 5,359 petabytes. The number of 5G devices jumped 67 percent with continued network expansion.
PLDT Home’s fiber-only revenues climbed 6 percent to P56 billion, making up 92 percent of total revenues. Average revenue per user stood at P1,488, with 75 percent of new subscribers choosing premium plans. The segment had the industry's lowest churn rate at 1.7 percent.