Philippines' PLDT 9-month profit drops 2 percent

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the country's largest telecommunications group, said Tuesday its net profit in the first nine months fell 2 percent from a year earlier because of the weakening local currency.

The Philippine peso has declined 17.7 percent since the beginning of the year, trading at 48.49 against the U.S. dollar Monday.

PLDT said consolidated net profit in the January-September period slipped to 26.2 billion pesos ($541 million) as "losses from the foreign exchange revaluation of financial assets and liabilities" hurt the company's performance.

The company's core net income, which excludes foreign exchange movements and changes in the value of derivatives, was up 5 percent at 27.8 billion pesos ($575 million) from 26.4 billion pesos in the same period last year.

PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the company expected second-half losses "with inflation accelerating and taking its toll on customer wallets and on cash expenses."

"We were shocked, just as the rest of the world was, at the severity, scope and depth of the financial crisis and the speed by which it enveloped not only capital markets but also sovereigns such as Iceland," he said in a statement.

He affirmed the company's full-year guidance of core profit of 37 billion pesos, and said PLDT will reassess its capital expenditure program early next year "once we have a better grasp of the overall market situation."

Resource - Cellular-news