Globe Profit Drops on Bond Redemption BUSINESS ASIA By Bloomberg

Globe Telecom, the second-largest Philippine phone company, said that first-quarter net profit dropped by a fourth after the company paid some debt ahead of schedule. Revenue from calls and text messages rose 10 percent.

Net income in the quarter that ended March 31 fell to 2.6 billion pesos, or $55 million, from 3.5 billion pesos a year earlier, after it redeemed $300 million of bonds originally due in 2012, the company said Friday.

The Manila-based venture of Singapore Telecommunications and Ayala added 1.3 million additional subscribers in the first quarter, bringing the total to 16.9 million as politicians used mobile-phone text messaging to court voters in a nation where more than 40 percent of the population own cellular phones. The Philippines will hold local and legislative elections on May 14.

Revenue from phone calls and text messaging increased to 15.6 billion pesos from 14.2 billion pesos a year earlier, the company said. Net income, excluding one-time items, was 3.7 billion pesos, the company said. Globe incurred 1.2 billion pesos in costs by redeeming the bonds ahead of schedule. Still, it will realize interest savings of 2.32 billion pesos in the next five years, Globe’s chief financial officer, Delfin Gonzalez, said earlier this year.

(c) 2007 International Herald Tribune. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.