MANILA -- Globe Telecom said Monday its net income in the January to March period grew 44 percent, driven by data services.

The Ayala-led carrier said it posted net income of P6.7 billion in the first quarter. Core net income, which excludes the impact of non-recurring charges and foreign exchange and market-to-market charges, grew 40 percent.

Consolidated service revenues in the first quarter stood at P36 billion, up 13 percent year-on-year and 3 percent higher from the previous quarter, Globe told the stock exchange. It spent P8.8 billion to upgrade its facilities in the January to March period.

Mobile revenues grew 11 percent to P27 billion from the first quarter in 2018, Globe said.

"For 2019, we are confident in our ability to maintain this strong growth momentum with the aggressive investments in the network, coupled with the evolving lifestyle bundles that aim to strongly influence the digital life of Filipinos," said Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu.

Revenues for the full year will increase by "high single-digits" compared to 2018, Cu said.

Globe said it had 83.5 million mobile subscribers at the end of the first quarter, up 13 percent from the fourth quarter of 2018.