Driven by high subscriber acquisition and a thriving enterprise business, fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. hauled in P8.6 billion revenues in the first quarter of 2023, up 11.5 percent versus the same period last year and netted P2.2 billion earnings, up 11 percent versus the same period last year.
Converge continued to expand its residential subscriber base with net additions reaching 43,000. Postpaid subscribers accounted for 67 percent and prepaid fiber subscribers consisting of the remaining 33 percent of the net subscriber additions. As of Q1 2023, Converge has 1.9 million postpaid and nearly 30,000 prepaid fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) subscribers. Meanwhile, the company's enterprise revenues reached its highest growth rate since 2020, surging 32.4 percent year-on-year to P1.2 billion in the first quarter of the year on the back of robust overall growth across all subsegments - small and medium enterprises (SMEs), large enterprises and corporates, and wholesale. “Our commitment to provide world-class broadband services, coupled with our strategic investments in our network infrastructure, has enabled us to post positive first-quarter results," says Converge Co-Founder and CEO Dennis Anthony Uy. "Converge is well-positioned to be the preferred internet service provider of customers as we continue to focus on reaching the unserved and underserved markets,” he pointed out. This quarter, Converge achieved EBITDA (earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of P 5.2 billion, a 13.5 percent increase from the previous year.
Consequently, its consolidated EBITDA margin improved to 59.9 percent, fueled by growing scale, proactive cost management, and judicious monitoring and recognition of contract costs of active subscribers. Converge expects more opportunities for subscriber growth in the coming years from its expansion in Visayas and Mindanao. Having established its presence in the upper income segments, Converge is now expanding into lower-income markets by offering more affordable products, including prepaid fiber internet. By June this year, Converge will fully launch prepaid offering Surf2Sawa to the lower-income market, which accounts for approximately 9.3 million households. Surf2Sawa is a prepaid fiber-to-the-home plan, with various top-up options such as P700 for 30-day unlimited connectivity, P380 for a 15-day subscription, P200 for a seven-day unlimited internet, and P50 for a one-day subscription.