Despite the dampened economic growth in the global and domestic front last year, Globe Telecom recorded a robust performance driven by its integrated approach to value creation, sustainability, and risk management.
“For us, the true value we create lies in the impact we have on the lives of people -- our customers, employees, business associates, suppliers, vendors and Filipinos at large. Our employees are at the forefront of helping us achieve our goals and vision and are key to furthering our sustainability agenda,” said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.
Globe achieved an important milestone when it launched the Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G postpaid plans which made the Philippines the first Southeast Asian country to experience the fifth generation fixed wireless broadband.
The company, in total, spent Php 51 billion in capital investments which represents 34% of gross service revenues and 67% of full year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). It also forged more partnerships to anchor infrastructure development at a larger scale, resulting in 139% more cell sites and 28% more 3G and 4G base stations compared to 2018.
Through innovative customer-centric solutioning, Globe ended 2019 with over 94 million mobile customers and over 2 million home broadband customers, representing a year-on-year increase of 27% and 25%, respectively.
“We have made strong strides aligned with our vision of redefining customer experience, enabling last mile connectivity and revitalizing the country’s digital economy. Our performance in 2019 is a testament of our integrated approach to value creation by focusing on customer experience, driving sustainability and adopting a holistic approach to risk management,” Cu said.
Together with its digitalization efforts, Globe embarked on various sustainability programs as it aims to be a market disruptor in terms of innovative technology and sustainability initiatives.
Globe became a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, committing to implement universal sustainability principles and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals focusing on education, environmental conservation, digital inclusion and development.
As natural resources play an indispensable role in the well-being of society, Globe strives to conduct its operations with minimum impact on the environment by rolling out almost 7,000 green network solutions in 2019, avoiding Single-Use Plastic in all its offices, advocating for e-waste management, participating in reforestation efforts, shifting to paperless billing which translates to over 650 tons of paper saved, and automating and migrating to a paperless process and saving over 20 tons of paper, among other initiatives.
Globe also undertook a marine protection program aimed towards biodiversity conservation, and devised a dedicated climate strategy focusing on building the resilience of its value chain to extreme weather events and ensuring protection of the network in times of disaster.
Likewise, the company expanded the reach of the Digital Thumbprint Program which teaches responsible online behavior to young adults. DTP was adopted by the Department of Education for incorporation in the values education subject for K-12 students. Globe also encouraged social innovators to use technology to address social issues through its Future Makers Program.
Meanwhile, Globe installed a dedicated Board Risk Oversight Committee in April last year which allowed the company to balance risk governance and define risk-taking responsibility and authority. This step plays a crucial role in enhancing the robustness of the company by proactively managing risks, and thereby, ensuring continuous stakeholder value generation.
Moving forward, Globe has committed P63 billion for its capital expenditures in 2020 which the company intends to fulfill despite the global health crisis.
“We recognize the critical risks that a disruption from an emerging infectious disease can bring to our operations. And from the onset, as part of our Business Continuity Management Plan, we already prepared for workforce health and safety, supply chain disruption and the need to provide seamless connectivity, among other things,” Cu said.
However, he said the magnitude of COVID-19's impact on the company's overall business operations and the whole economy will have to be assessed further.