Friday, May 16, 2008 Globe confident of market improvement with TM
GLOBE Telecoms, the country’s second largest mobile provider, is optimistic that their market share will be boosted further by the recent acquisition of Touch Mobile (TM).
Ferdinand dela Cruz, consumer wireless business head of Globe Telecom, said the merger will be an exciting one for both the subscribers of TM and Globe since they will enjoy both the same promos the company is providing.
“We are very excited with this new development as this is significant milestone for Globe Telecom and our subscribers,” dela Cruz said.
During a lunch briefing last Thursday, dela Cruz assured both the subscribers of Globe now stands at more than 12 million and TM’s eight million users that there will never be “congestion” in the services.
At the same time, he explained that the current promos on unlimited texting, sulit text promos and everybody text provided to Globe subscribers will now be similarly enjoyed by the Globe to TM users or vice-versa.
Dela Cruz explained that the company’s aim is to connect their TM subscribers from the Visayas and Mindanao to the users of Globe in Luzon without paying extra charges.
“This will not only enable the company to further strengthen its market competitiveness, but also allow both Globe and TM subscribers to enjoy the benefits of superior products and services at more affordable rates,” he added.
Delfin Gonzales, Globe chief finance officer, meantime said they expect the revenues from the merger to come in beyond 2008.
“I think were seeing benefits but most will come not at the end of this year,” he said.
Globe, according to Gonzales, has paid Innove Communications, a subsidiary of Globe Telecom, nearly close to P1 billion for the acquisition of TM pre-paid users or equivalent to P120 per subscriber.
On Tuesday, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) approved the assignment of TM subscribers in favor of Globe.
With the merger, Globe Telecoms will manage all the users of both TM brand and Globe handy phones.
For the first quarter of 2008, Globe Telecom posted a flat growth in its revenues but its net income went up by 32 percent from a year ago, owing largely to last year's prepayment of P1.3 billion in debt.
The company closed the first quarter with consolidated service revenues of P15.539 billion, at par with last year’s level of P15.609 billion amid a more difficult macro-economic environment in the first quarter of 2008.
Net income jumped to P3.4 billion in the first quarter from P2.6 billion a year earlier, which was traced to Globe's prepayment of US$300 senior notes last year.
As of last month, Globe and TM combined SIM base reached 21.7 million subscribers, higher than the monthly average net additions of 320,000 new subscribers during the first quarter. (MSN/Sunnex)
