Telco-to-tech provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is cutting its revenue growth outlook for the year down to 10 to 12 percent despite posting a robust first-half performance and an overall strong demand.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Uy-led telco reported that its net income grew 12 percent to ₱5.9 billion from ₱5.3 billion last year.

Converge earlier estimated that its profit would rise 12 percent to 14 percent, but it has now adjusted its full-year guidance to 10 percent to 12 percent.

The company attributed the downward revision to sustained monthly churn levels and delays in the rollout of select enterprise solutions.

In a press briefing, Converge chief financial officer Robert Yu said the company took some damage from the recent onslaught of successive storms and the southwest monsoon last month.

Converge is also seeing a slower uptake in certain enterprise offerings, in tune with their longer sales cycles.

Yu likewise pointed to the company’s limited manpower, particularly the fiber engineers and technicians—which is in strong demand globally—as another factor behind the reduced outlook.

While he did not elaborate on the workforce gap, Yu said the company is taking proactive measures to ensure that it has enough workers to meet the rising demand for its fiber connectivity.

Converge said its revenues climbed 12 percent to ₱21.8 billion in the first half, compared to last year’s ₱19.5 billion on the back of sustained demand for its residential and enterprise segments.

The residential segment saw a 10 percent growth to ₱18.4 billion, with a total of 2.8 million residential subscribers as of end-June.

Converge said its Surf2Sawa prepaid plan, in particular, registered an all-time high in gross adds driven by the growing preference for fiber broadband in the prepaid segment.

The telco’s enterprise revenue stood at ₱3.4 billion, up 18 percent from ₱2.9 billion last year. Its wholesale unit emerged as the fastest-growing subsegment with 41.3 percent revenue growth.

Capital expenditures (capex) in the first half amounted to ₱4.2 billion, slightly higher than last year’s ₱3.9 billion.

Converge is expecting to ramp up spending in the second half as it readies the start of operations for its Caloocan and Pampanga data centers, as well as the activation of its branch in the trans-Pacific Bifrost Cable System.

The company is targeting to spend ₱20 billion to ₱25 billion in capex this year.

“As Converge pushes ahead with its aspiration to become a forward-looking technology company, we’ve made strides towards further building our digital infrastructure, elevating our product offerings, and strengthening our leadership bench,” said Uy.