Sunday, May 10, 2009

Energy Development Corporation Confirms Interest in Increasing Wind Power Capacity

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Lopez controlled Energy Development Corporation confirmed on-going tender for EDC’s 86 MW Burgos Wind power Project and details of the article “EDC Mulls increase in wind power capacity” published in the May 6, 2009 issue of The Philippine Star.

The article reported, in part, that:
“ (EDC) .... is looking at the possibility of increasing its wind power project to 86 megawatts (MW), making it the biggest wind farm in Southeast Asia, the company’s top executive said. EDC President Paul Aquino said the company is currently soliciting proposals from various contractors for the expansion in the wind power project. “We decided on 86 MW from the previously planned 40 to 60 MW so that we can get the attention of the suppliers and it will be more cost efficient for us,” Aquino said … Aquino said the company is also planning to build a five-MW wind project near Boracay …"

GLOBE TELECOM ANNOUNCES CORE NET INCOME OF P3.7 BILLION IN Q1 2009

Globe Telecom registered consolidated service revenues of P16.0 billion in the first quarter of 2009, 3% higher than last year given the steady performance of the Company’s wireless business and the sustained expansion of its broadband and wireline data business. Revenues from the wireless business increased by about P120 million or 1% year on year to reach P14.0 billion, while the wireline and broadband business grew 17% or about P300 million to close the period with record high quarterly revenues of P2.1 billion.

Net income after tax was P4.0 billion, 17% above last year’s P3.4 billion. This quarter’s net income includes an after-tax gain of P398 million arising from an equipment exchange transaction with an equipment supplier. Excluding foreign exchange and mark-to-market gains and losses as well as the gain from the equipment exchange transaction, core net income grew 5% to P3.7 billion from P3.5 billion a year ago. Consolidated EBITDA margin was at 61% for the period
compared to 64% for the same period last year and 55% from last quarter.

The wireless business posted healthy subscriber growth with total SIM base expanding 21%
year-on-year to 25.7 million subscribers. While net additions remained healthy, average revenue per subscriber declined as a result of continued multi-SIM usage and low usage levels of new subscribers.

Meanwhile, the Company’s broadband business continued to post strong growth, with over
287,000 broadband subscribers by quarter-end, more than double last year’s level. Subscribers of the Company’s fully mobile broadband service Globe Broadband Tattoo comprised almost 75% of this quarter’s net subscriber additions. With sustained double digit subscriber growth, broadband revenues rose 58% year-on-year to close the quarter at P640 million.

“We are encouraged by the continued growth of our overall business, especially considering the challenging environment against which it was achieved,” Ernest L. Cu, President and CEO of Globe Telecom, Inc. said. “Moving forward, we will remain focused on enhancing our services, strengthening our brand propositions and product offers, and improving our processes to compete effectively in this highly demanding and competitive market.,” said Mr. Cu.


To sustain its growth momentum, Globe introduced service innovations that are relevant to its customers’ needs, easy to use and affordable. During the quarter, Globe introduced a single, easy-to-recall access code “8888” for all its bulk and unlimited SMS and voice promos (Unlitxt, TodoText, Sulitxt, Everybodytxt, Unlicalls Nyt, Todo Tawag Magdamag, TxtOthers, and ITXT).

The Company also recently introduced a key service enhancement that allows Globe and TM subscribers to purchase Sulitxt and Everybodytxt load credits directly from the Company’s retailers, making it more convenient for subscribers to avail of these popular bulk SMS offers.

To drive subscriber acquisitions, Globe introduced Load Tipid Plans – a hybrid prepaid and postpaid plan – which allow subscribers to set a monthly limit on usage while retaining the flexibility to reload value through the usual channels once their limits have been reached. Also recently, the Company launched another pioneering service Globe DUO – an innovative service that combines a mobile and wireless landline service into one handset. DUO subscribers can
make unlimited calls to any landline within the same area code as well as mobile calls to other DUO subscribers, all for an incremental monthly service fee of P 399 on top of a postpaid plan.

For broadband, Globe re-launched its fully mobile broadband service as Globe Broadband Tattoo
to appeal to the growing youth segment who require on-the-go broadband connections. The new Globe Broadband Tattoo service is available in prepaid and postpaid variants that offer connections of up to 2 Mbps. Prepaid kits have been made even more affordable while postpaid plans have been provided with additional free browsing hours.

Globe also recently announced that it has commercially launched its WiMAX (802.16e) service on the 2.5 Ghz band, one of the first and largest of its kind in Southeast Asia. This service is currently available in selected key areas in South Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, offering broadband data only and data bundled with voice packages for P795 and P995 per month at connection speed of up to 512 kbps.

“We are excited with the progress we have made on broadband to date. Our broadband expansion is on track and we have started to grab a higher share of the market growth.,” Mr. Cu added. “We look forward to introducing more service innovations that will deliver superior value and the best product experience for our subscribers,” Mr. Cu concluded.

Globe Telecom Press Release

SM Hits a Hundred Retail Outlets Nationwide with the Opening of Naga Stores

Philippine conglomerate SM Investments Corporation (SM) reported last May 6 that with the opening of an SM department store and an SM supermarket at the newly inaugurated SM City Naga in Camarines Sur on Friday, May 1, 2009, SM’s retail network has hit a landmark, now with a total of 100 stores. SM’s retail
network is composed of 34 SM department stores, 25 SM supermarkets, 14 SaveMore branches, 13 SM hypermarkets, and 14 Makro outlets.

SM’s retail business is divided into two main segments, the non-food group, which is principally SM department stores, and the food-group, composed of SM supermarkets, SaveMore stores, SM hypermarkets, and Makro outlets.

SM president Mr. Harley T. Sy said, “SM retail’s sustained expansion nationwide fits well with the country’s consistently robust and dynamic consumer sector. Domestic consumer spending, supported to a large extent by remittances from overseas Filipinos, continues to grow. Thus, with the opening of SM’s 100th retail outlet, we intend to further enhance our product and service delivery, for the benefit of the millions of consumers within the SM world.”

To be opened second week of May will be an SM department store at the Annex of SM City Rosales. And, for the rest of 2009, SM will open one more department store, one supermarket, eight SaveMore branches, and six hypermarkets.