Telecommunications leader PLDT Inc. registered a seven percent decline in net income last year despite the resiliency of its core offerings, as tightening competition and other constraints dampened growth.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PLDT said its attributable net income fell to ₱30.01 billion compared to ₱32.31 billion a year ago.

Despite total revenues inching up to ₱218.39 billion, earnings from the company’s core services were down three percent to ₱33.93 billion from ₱35.18 billion.

PLDT chief financial officer Danny Yu attributed the decline to intensifying competition, noting that the country’s leading telco players are now offering roughly the same prices for their services.

For one, PLDT chief operating officer Menards Jimenez said Dennis Uy-led DITO Telecommunity Corp. is now becoming “more rational” in pricing.

Citing DITO’s growing debt pile, Jimenez said the country’s third telco entrant is shedding its previous approach of offering the most affordable service and is instead shifting to match the pricing of PLDT and Globe Telecom Inc.

He said there is now more openness within the industry to collaborate “because we really need to improve the financial standing of all the companies.”

As pricing among firms becomes more competitive, Yu said the point of contention is now services beyond traditional offerings, such as financial services.

For PLDT, the bright spot lies in its digital banking arm, Maya, which generated a profit of ₱1.7 billion while contributing ₱716 million to the telco.

The contribution, however, was slightly lower than expected following a fourth-quarter slowdown due to the platform's delinking from online gambling sites, as ordered by the government.

PLDT investor relations head Marseille Nograles also cited non-operating one-offs such as fair value adjustments, foreign exchange movements, and investment gains as other factors behind the tapering off.

Still, Yu said PLDT fared better when comparing Maya’s contribution to GCash’s contribution to Globe.

“If you strip off the fintech contribution, you'll note that our pure telco core income, we were down by three percent, but they [Globe] were down by more than 10 percent,” he noted.

In terms of its core business, PLDT generated record revenues in home and enterprise segments to ₱61 billion and ₱48.4 billion, respectively. The wireless segment contributed the most, with growth staying flat at ₱85 billion.

“Our core business has remained stable, especially considering the challenges in the wider economy,” PLDT Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Pangilinan.

For the year, Pangilinan said the company aims to sustain its positive free cash flow, which was achieved last year ahead of its 2026 target.

PLDT’s capital expenditures (capex) last year decreased by nearly 23 percent to ₱60.3 billion from ₱78.2 billion, fueled by successful vendor negotiations.

For this year’s capex guidance, PLDT plans to spend in the mid-₱50 billion range as it pursues a disciplined investment strategy.