Pure-play, high-speed fixed broadband operator, Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions, Inc. hauled in P24.5 billion revenues in the first nine months of 2022, versus the same period last year, up 30.0 percent and netted P6.107 billion earnings, up 17.5 percent.
Revenues from the company's residential business grew 30.5 percent to P21,362 million during the same period, driven by a 16 percent year-on-year (YoY growth) in its subscriber base.
The monthly Average Revenue per User (ARPU) of the residential segment remained stable at P1,261 in 3Q 2022.
EBITDA margins expanded from 55.1 percent to a new all-time high of 59.0 percent in the comparative period.
Converge ended September 2022 with 1,845,162 residential subscribers, a 16 percent increase from the same month last year.
The company deployed 411,320 new fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) ports during 3Q2022, increasing Converge’s nationwide network reach to more than 14.3 million homes passed as of September 30, 2022.
With more than 6.7 million fiber ports throughout the country, Converge has the largest fiber infrastructure network in the Philippines todate.
Converge achieved a 53.0 percent
nationwide household coverage, on track to reach the its accelerated target to cover approximately 55.0 percent of households in the Philippines by 2023.
Enterprise revenue growth continued to accelerate, growing by 26.9 percent YoY, from P2.457 Billion toP3.119 Billion during the same period, with solid growth across all enterprise segments, such as small and medium enterprise (SME) and large enterprises.
As the economy of the Philippines continues to recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic, revenues from Converge's enterprise business during the third quarter continued its growth momentum at 29 percent YoY, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of accelerated revenue growth rates.
The SME business continues to grow with a 68 percent increase in revenue in 3Q 2022 on the back of a growing customer base.
Compared to September 30, 2021, SME customers grew by 77 percent, reaching more than 31,000 customers as of September 30, 2022.
Large enterprise segment also grew significantly during the first half of the year with 17 percent revenue growth on the back of additional key customer wins across multiple industries.
Similarly, the company’s wholesale segment grew by 52 percent as it increasingly monetized capacity on our vast domestic fiber network and our international cables, with wholesale customers such as telecommunication carrier clients and international over-the-top media services (OTTs).
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) remained high with 16.6 percent for the first nine months of 2022.
Converge's high ROIC continues to be at industry-leading levels as a result of its disciplined approach in deploying capital to expand its fiber network and tracking key capital efficiency indicators such as port utilization ratios.
Converge’s blended port utilization ratio as of September 30, 2022 was at 24.1percent
Of the 9M 2022 FTTH ports deployed, around 24 percent were rolled out in Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin)– from 20 percent last quarter, as it expanded into new markets while continuously deepening its presence in Luzon.