POGO exit to have little impact on Globe revenues

Globe Telecom Inc. said Friday the exit of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) from the Philippines will not significantly impact its revenue stream.

“We have a certain percentage of our revenues on the B2B side of the business that is actually getting revenues from the POGOs. It’s not so significant. At the end of the day, we support the directive of the President to actually exit POGOs in the country,” said Darius Delgado, vice president and head of Globe’s consumer mobile business.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his third State of the Nation Address, ordered the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to close down POGOs in the country by the end of the year.

Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu said the previous exodus of POGOs had already reduced revenue from the sector. “So, minimal impact to Globe at this stage,” he said.

Globe reported a net income of P14.5 billion in the first half of 2024, a 1-percent increase from the same period last year.

Excluding a one-time gain from tower sales, normalized net income surged 19 percent to P11.9 billion in the first half from a year earlier.

Globe’s core net income went up by 18 percent to P11.7 billion. Consolidated gross revenues rose 2 percent to P82.2 billion.

Corporate data revenues grew 8 percent year-on-year, generating about P9.8 billion as of end-June of 2024.

Home broadband revenues dropped 6 percent from P12.8 billion to P12.1 billion on lower fixed wireless services.