PLDT (NYSE:PHI) reported higher service revenue and EBITDA for the first nine months of 2026, but rising depreciation and foreign-exchange losses weighed on earnings. The Philippine telecommunications company also said it had paused plans for a VITRO real estate investment trust listing because of market conditions.
Gross service revenue rose 2% to PHP 161.2 billion, while service revenue net of interconnection costs increased 1% to PHP 146.9 billion. EBITDA rose 1% to PHP 83.2 billion, with the margin steady at 52%.
Reported net income fell 8% to PHP 21.7 billion, with the weaker peso driving higher foreign-exchange losses. Telco core income declined 6% to PHP 23.5 billion as a PHP 3.3 billion increase in depreciation and amortization offset the benefit of higher EBITDA and lower financing costs. Consolidated core income fell 4% to PHP 24.4 billion, supported by a higher contribution from Maya and gains from asset sales.
Enterprise and Wireless Offset Home Weakness
Enterprise revenue rose 4% to PHP 37.2 billion, making it the largest contributor to the group’s revenue growth. Corporate data, information and communications technology, and enterprise wireless revenue increased a combined 8% to PHP 31.2 billion, more than offsetting declines in legacy services.
Within those businesses, data center services revenue grew 11%, enterprise wireless revenue increased 16%, and PLDT Global grew 36%, supported by demand for international connectivity from hyperscalers and carriers.
Wireless consumer revenue rose 1% to PHP 63.5 billion for the nine months after a stronger third quarter. Third-quarter revenue increased 3% from a year earlier to PHP 21.5 billion, its highest quarterly level so far this year. Mobile data and fixed wireless access generated PHP 58.7 billion over nine months, up 3%.
Lloyd Manaloto, officer-in-charge of Smart Communications, said pricing changes and targeted 5G upgrades contributed to an approximately 3% increase in prepaid top-ups. The changes included raising the price of a one-day unlimited offer to PHP 35 from PHP 30 and shifting some offers from unlimited applications to data buckets. Manaloto said the effect had been sustained for at least four months.
Home revenue fell 2% to PHP 44.8 billion, while fiber revenue declined 1%. PLDT said earlier disruptions associated with its operational support system transformation reduced installations, and third-quarter field constraints further affected sales and deployments.
John Palanca, senior vice president and head of consumer business, said the recovery in installation volumes after May was not enough to make up for the earlier shortfall. He said some distribution partners had struggled with higher fuel, wage and material costs. PLDT is rebuilding its sales and installation capacity, prioritizing postpaid subscriber growth and expanding prepaid fiber distribution. Palanca said he expects a recovery in the first part of next year.
VITRO Listing Paused as Capacity Expands
PLDT said it had paused the planned VITRO REIT listing, which it had initially hoped to pursue in the latter part of 2026. Chief Finance and Risk Advisor Stanley Yang cited higher benchmark rates, inflation and rising interest rates, which affect the dividend yield investors seek from a REIT.
VITRO had approximately 63 megawatts of total capacity across existing facilities and expansion phases, with 35 megawatts contracted. About 34 megawatts of activated, IT-ready capacity was available across nine data centers at the end of September.
Viboy Genuino, president of ePLDT and VITRO, said the company expects to end the year with around 44 megawatts of available capacity and to exceed 60 megawatts by the middle of next year. He cited interest from enterprises, government agencies, hyperscalers and providers of computing capacity for artificial intelligence workloads.
Capital Spending and Debt
Capital expenditure fell 15% to PHP 36.6 billion in the first nine months. PLDT maintained its full-year guidance in the mid-PHP 50 billion range and said it wants spending next year to be lower, though not necessarily by a large amount.
Net debt stood at PHP 285.6 billion at the end of September, down from PHP 287.3 billion at the end of June. Net debt to EBITDA remained at 2.6 times. PLDT said it had positive free cash flow for the nine months, continued to target a positive full-year result and was working toward a medium-term leverage ratio of 2.0 times.
The company received PHP 3.7 billion in initial proceeds from copper monetization and expects additional payments in tranches. Yang also said PLDT was in discussions to sell approximately 150 to 200 towers, potentially raising around PHP 2 billion, with a closing expected in the first quarter.
Maya Contribution Rises
Maya contributed PHP 838 million to PLDT’s core income, up 39%, reflecting PLDT’s 37.7% stake. Maya’s deposits rose 68% year over year to PHP 95 billion, while banking loans increased 58% to PHP 44 billion.
Its gross nonperforming loan ratio fell to 4.9% in September from 6.1% at the end of 2025. Yang said Maya had not observed unusual trends in delinquency or early-stage arrears and continued to monitor asset quality amid the challenging economic environment.
About PLDT (NYSE:PHI)
PLDT Inc. is a telecommunications and digital services provider based in the Philippines. Founded in 1928, the company operates an integrated network serving residential, business and government customers across the country. Its services include mobile voice and data through its Smart brand, fixed-line telephony, home broadband and enterprise connectivity. Through its business units and subsidiaries, PLDT also provides information and communications technology services, cloud and data-center solutions, and other digital services.
