CONVERGE ICT Solutions, Inc. is allocating up to P15 billion for its capital expenditure (capex) budget next year, mainly for the development of the company’s digital infrastructure projects, its president said.
“I think we are focusing on digital infrastructure now, the cloud and all that. Around P12 billion to P15 billion for our capex next year. We are going to spend more on digital infrastructure,” Converge Chief Executive Officer Dennis Anthony H. Uy told reporters last week.
The company’s capex budget for 2025 is lower than its P17 billion to P19 billion budget this year.
“With our earnings improved, we will reduce our capitalization,” Mr. Uy said.
In August, the company announced that it had revised its growth forecast for 2024 to between 2% and 14%, from the earlier estimate of 7-8%, driven by market optimism following stronger second-quarter results.
For the second quarter, Converge registered an attributable net income of P2.74 billion, up 29.8% from the P2.11 billion in the same period last year, the company’s financial statement showed.
Despite posting increased gross expenses for the April-to-June period at P6.18 billion, 15.1% higher than the P5.37 billion previously, the company managed to register higher earnings on elevated revenues.
Converge posted P9.98 billion in gross revenue for the second quarter, climbing by 14.4% from last year’s P8.72 billion.
For the first semester, Converge’s attributable net income surged to P5.29 billion, marking an increase of 23.6% from the P4.28 billion in the same period last year.
Its gross revenues went up to P19.52 billion, higher by 12.4% from the P17.37 billion in the same period last year.
Further, Mr. Uy said Converge is also looking at offering more solutions, particularly launching Smart Home solutions.
“Smart Home, we are doing it now. The future is in the home, you will see,” he said, adding that the company is targeting to launch this new offering by next year.
The listed fiber broadband provider launched in September its Converge Concierge, which is described as a hospitality TV solution.
This digital concierge service is an all-in-one smart TV solution, offering a platform that features an in-room entertainment and information hub, complete with Internet-of-Things-enabled and smart controls.
Smart home solutions are innovative technology that allows homeowners to control appliances, lighting, and other devices remotely through an internet connection or a particular platform. — Ashley Erika O. Jose