By Roderick T. dela Cruz

Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. yesterday announced a consolidated net income of P34.6 billion in 2008, down 4 percent from a year ago. The company?s revenues rose 5 percent, after recording nearly five million more wireless subscribers last year.

It was the first time that the company?s net profit registered a decline since 2002, when it incurred foreign exchange losses, as a result of higher payments for US-dollar denominated debt, and asset impairment charges in information and communication technology sector.

?Our core businesses continue to grow despite the global recession but we have no intention of sitting on our laurels. We are fully aware of the extent of the situation and will keep a watchful eye on issues that may affect us,? said PLDT president and chief executive Napoleon Nazareno.

However, core net income, or net of exceptional items, grew 8 percent to P38.1 billion last year from a year ago, as service revenues climbed 5 percent to P142.9 billion.

Capital expenditures amounted to P25.2 billion in 2008, slightly below the P27-billion guidance provided earlier in the year.

Nazareno said PLDT had 1.8 million fixed landline subscribers, 35.2 million mobile phone subscribers and close to a million broadband Internet subscribers.

PLDT said net income tumbled 10 percent to P8.454 billion in the fourth quarter, while core net income grew 17 percent to P10.286 billion, as revenues rose 7 percent to P37.288 billion.

PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan said he expected core net income this year to rise 5 percent to P40 billion on a 6 percent growth in service revenues to about P150 billion.

The company set a capital expenditure guidance of P27 billion for the year.

Pangilinan said the January profit numbers looked encouraging although he stopped short of citing the actual net income for the month.

The group expects to add 3.5 million Smart and Talk N Text subscribers this year. Last year, Smart?s prepaid and post-paid brands recorded net additions of 560,000 subscribers to end-2008 with 20.9 million subscribers while Talk N Text added 4.6 million subscribers to end the year with 14.3 million subscribers.

Nazareno said the group?s broadband business would lead the industry growth this year, as it defied gravity last year by growing by more than 80 percent in 2008.

SmartBro, Smart?s wireless broadband service, increased its wireless broadband subscriber base by 81 percent to reach 547,000 at the end of 2008. Postpaid broadband subscribers grew 40 percent to 423,000 while the prepaid service, which was launched only at the end of March 2008, already totaled 124,000.