Converge now broadest FTTH network in PH, revenues up by 30% at end-September

CEBU CITY -- Converge ICT Solutions Inc. (Converge) is now the largest fiber infrastructure network in the Philippines with more than 6.7 million fiber ports and registered a 30 percent surge in consolidated revenues to P 24.5B at end of September compared to the same period last year amid continued expansion in its residential subscriber base and strong performance from its enterprise segment, lifting the company’s net income to P6.1 billion during the nine-month period, 17 percent higher from the same period last year.

Converge continues to support the residential subscriber growth with its rollout of fiber ports deploying more than 411,000 Fiber to the Home (FTTH) ports nationwide in the third quarter of 2022 alone.

“This puts Converge’s household coverage at 53 percent, on track to reach the accelerated target to cover approximately 55 percent of households in the Philippines by 2023.  At the end of September 2022, Converge reported over 1.84 million residential subscribers, a 16 percent increase from the same period last year.  Our mission is to reach the underserved areas in the country with our world-class fiber infrastructure,” Converge CEO Dennis Anthony Uy bared.

Uy added that Converge fiber digital highway is now running around 600,000 kilometers, reaching the northernmost provinces in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions up to Palawan and the Bicol region and the major islands in the Visayas and key cities in Mindanao and it’s not yet over.

Converge achieved earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of P14.4 billion in the first nine months of 2022, 39 percent higher from the previous year that resulted to the Company’s consolidated EBITDA margin reaching an all-time high of 59.0 percent during the nine-month period.

“Despite the macroeconomic pressures experienced throughout the year, Converge has continued to achieve solid financial growth. This was driven mainly by the growth in our subscriber base. The revenue of our Residential Business during the first nine months of the year increased by 31 percent compared to the same period in 2021 while our Enterprise Business achieved 27 percent year-on-year growth,” Converge President Maria Grace Uy.

Converge Chief Operations Officer Jesus Romero said they are glad to

see businesses continue to make a comeback with the company’s enterprise business showing a steady upward trend in all segments, small and medium enterprise (SME), large enterprises and wholesale.

Romero added, the SME segment saw a 68 percent growth in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, fueled by the increasing customer base.  Converge saw 77 percent more SME customers as of September 2022 than the year before indicating that its enterprise broadband products are supporting the recovering SME segment.

The Wholesale segment on the other hand grew by 54 percent as the company continues to monetize the capacity of its domestic fiber network and international cables.   Beyond being the largest fiber network in the Philippines, Converge is committed to offer the fastest high-speed internet connectivity services in the country.

On November 11, 2022 Converge will be permanently increasing the speeds for its residential base plans for free.  The FiberX Plan 1500 will have speeds of up to 200Mbps, double of its current capacity.

Similarly, existing and potential subscribers of higher priced plans will also experience speed boosts: (1) A new FiberX Plan 2000 will be introduced to offer 400Mbps; (2) FiberX Plan 2500’s speeds will also double from 300Mbps to 600Mbps; (3) FiberX Plan 3500 will maintain its 800Mbps speeds, and (4) finally, a 1Gbps plan will be introduced as FiberX Plan 7499.

    

As Converge has designed its network with significant built-in capacity, the announced speed-increases come without any need for incremental capital expenditures for the Company. According to Ookla, the Philippine’s fixed broadband download speed registered at 78.69 Mbps in September 2022, ranking fifth behind Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

 Accelerated Service Recovery

Aside from our infrastructure redundancy projects, the Company has been implementing disaster preparedness activities given the number of typhoons that have and are still expected to hit the country. This aims to limit the impact of calamities on the Company’s infrastructure to ensure minimal service disruption.

More than 75 percent of residential subscribers affected by Super Typhoon Karding (Noru) were reconnected within two weeks, the remainder of which were reconnected after due to lack of commercial power. All of affected enterprise customers were reconnected within one week.

Severe Tropical Storm Paeng (Nalgae) had less impact on the Company’s infrastructure but restoration efforts were still fast. More than 80 percent of residential subscribers have been reconnected within one week and 100% of enterprise customers have been reconnected within three days.

These were vast improvements on our restoration efforts after Super Typhoon Odette (Rai) where approximately 60 percent of affected residential customers were only reconnected after two months and enterprise customers were only restored fully after one month.

The Company will continue to improve its disaster preparedness and recovery programs to ensure service interruption is minimal on the event of a calamity, including network infrastructure redundancy.  Converge is also employing natural catastrophe and climate modelling to better understand potential risks and impacts of natural disasters and climate change, and how best to prepare for them. (Photos: Converge)