Converge income climbs to P3.3B

Converge Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Solutions Inc. saw its net income jump to P3.39 billion last year from P1.94 billion in 2019.

In a virtual briefing on Thursday, the listed internet provider reported consolidated revenues of P15.65 billion in 2020, up 71 percent from P9.14 billion.

Revenues from its residential business doubled to P12.63 billion from P6.35 billion as its subscriber base rose by 96 percent and residential average revenue per user improved.
Converge ended 2020 with 1,038,000 residential subscribers, nearly doubling its 530,000 subscriber base in 2019.

Enterprise revenues improved by 9 percent to P3.02 billion from P2.79 billion as businesses adapted to the new normal ushered by the coronavirus pandemic.

“As the home became both office and classroom amid the pandemic, we further accelerated our fiber network rollout to deliver high-speed broadband connectivity to more Filipinos, reaching underserved and unserved areas in the country,” Converge Chief Executive Officer Dennis Anthony Uy said in a statement.

Converge continued to accelerate its nationwide rollout last year and deployed around 1.5 million new fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) ports, 1.75 times more than the 2019 figure.

Its nationwide network reached more than 6.1 million homes by end-2020, putting the firm on track to meet its target to cover around 55 percent of local households by 2025.

The company said its expansion to the Visayas and Mindanao was also progressing as planned and looked to fully commercially launch services by the second half of this year.

It has earmarked P20 billion for capital expenditures this year. This includes capital for the expansion of its backbone and deployment of additional FTTH ports.
Converge shares closed flat at P17.18 apiece on Friday.