MANILA - PLDT Inc said Thursday its telco core income jumped 10 percent to P23.1 billion in the January to September period partly due to lower tax rates.

With the first 9 months total, the telco is poised to reach its full-year target of P30 billion, PLDT said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

For the January to September period, consolidated service revenues rose by 7 percent to P135.9 billion, out of which P46 billion is from the third quarter, it said.

"As a true customer-centric and leading-edge technology company, our vision is to empower all Filipinos in building a stronger nation - securing a sustainable future for everyone by providing world-class connectivity. We will be relentless towards this vision, which inspires us to deliver more and better," said PLDT and Smart president and CEO Alfredo Panlilio.

PLDT said its fiber-to-the-home business posted a "record-breaking" growth for the third quarter with its service revenue hitting P9 billion or 83 percent higher compared to the same period last year.

Total PLDT Home revenue grew 25 percent to P35.5 billion for the first 9 months of the year, it said, adding that the total fiber capacity of PLDT Home is now at 5.29 million ports.

Its home broadband arm added some 324,000 fiber customers in Q3, which brought its total fiber customer count to 2.09 million and its fixed broadband customers to 2.77 million.

Meanwhile, individual wireless revenues grew 3 percent to P65.1 billion for the first 9 months of the year, PLDT said.

Data and wireless broadband contributed 80 percent of the segment's revenues with its mobile data users hitting 40 million.

PLDT said Smart 5G's revenue contribution is poised to expand further with its aggressive network rollout.

Mobile data revenue hit P52.6 billion for the first 9 months from P48.1 billion last year, the telco said.

Data traffic in the first 9 months increased by 16 percent while the monthly average data usage per subscriber was 7.7 B in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, PayMaya usage surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching over 41 million registered users at the end of September, PLDT said.

Maya Bank, which recently secured a digital banking license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, will offer "seamless digital banking" among customers, PLDT said.

The digital bank is set to launch in the first quarter of 2022, it added.

"Maya Bank will be a key vehicle in hastening digital adoption among Filipinos through inclusive financial services," said PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

For the first 9 months, total capital expenditures of PLDT and Smart reached P63.3 billion and is on track to meet the full-year guidance of P88 billion, it said.

• PayMaya gets digital bank license from Bangko Sentral
• PayMaya says expands cash-in touchpoints across Philippines
• Al Panlilio to succeed Pangilinan in PLDT as income rebounds

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