20-F 1 d705341d20f.htm FORM 20-F Form 20-F
Table of Contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 20-F

 

     ¨ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

 

     x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 – For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013

OR

 

     ¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 – For the transition period from                  to                 

OR

 

     ¨ SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 – Date of event requiring this shell company report                     

Commission file number 1-03006

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Republic of the Philippines

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

Ramon Cojuangco Building

Makati Avenue

Makati City, Philippines

(Address of principal executive offices)

Atty. Ma. Lourdes C. Rausa-Chan, telephone: +(632) 816-8556; lrchan@pldt.com.ph;

Ramon Cojuangco Bldg., Makati Avenue, Makati City, Philippines

(Name, telephone, e-mail and/or facsimile number and address of Company contact person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.

 

Title of each class

      

Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Capital Stock, Par Value Five Philippine Pesos Per Share      New York Stock Exchange*
American Depositary Shares, evidenced by American Depositary Receipts, each representing one share of Common Capital Stock      New York Stock Exchange

 

* Registered on the New York Stock Exchange not for trading but only in connection with the registration of American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, pursuant to the requirements of such stock exchange.

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act.

None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act.

 

8.350% Notes due March 2017

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as at the close of the period covered by the annual report.

 

As at December 31, 2013:
216,055,775 shares of Common Capital Stock, Par Value Five Philippine Pesos Per Share
36,000,570 shares of Non-voting Preferred Stock, Par Value Ten Philippine Pesos Per Share
150,000,000 shares of Voting Preferred Stock, Par Value One Philippine Peso Per Share

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act:  Yes  x  No  ¨

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934:  Yes  ¨  No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days:  Yes  x  No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (of for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes  ¨  No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer” and “large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large Accelerated Filer  x                 Accelerated Filer  ¨                 Non-Accelerated Filer  ¨

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

 

U.S. GAAP  ¨      International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the
International Accounting Standards Board  x
   Other  ¨

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.  Item 17  ¨  Item 18  ¨

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes  ¨  No  x

 


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

CERTAIN CONVENTIONS AND TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT

     3   

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     6   

PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION

     6   

PART I

  

        Item 1.

 

Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisors

     6   

        Item 2.

 

Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

     6   

        Item 3.

 

Key Information

     6   
 

Performance Indicators

     6   
 

Selected Financial Data

     8   
 

Capital Stock

     8   
 

Dividends Declared

     9   
 

Dividends Paid

     9   
 

Exchange Rates

     10   
 

Capitalization and Indebtedness

     10   
 

Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

     10   
 

Risk Factors

     10   

        Item 4.

 

Information on the Company

     21   
 

Overview

     21   
 

Historical Background and Development

     22   
 

Recent Developments

     22   
 

Business Overview

     23   
 

Capital Expenditures and Divestitures

     24   
 

Organization

     24   
 

Development Activities (2011-2013)

     25   
 

Strengths

     28   
 

Strategy

     29   
 

Business

     30   
 

Infrastructure

     38   
 

Interconnection Agreements

     41   
 

Licenses and Regulations

     41   
 

Material Effects of Regulation on our Business

     44   
 

Competition

     45   
 

Environmental Matters

     47   
 

Intellectual Property Rights

     47   
 

Properties

     47   

        Item 4A.

 

Unresolved Staff Comments

     48   

        Item 5.

 

Operating and Financial Review and Prospects

     48   
 

Overview

     48   
 

Management’s Financial Review

     49   
 

Critical Accounting Policies

     50   
 

New Accounting Standards and Interpretations to Existing Standards Effective Subsequent to December 31, 2013

     55   
 

Results of Operations

     56   
 

Plans

     88   
 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

     89   
 

Impact of Inflation and Changing Prices

     94   

        Item 6.

 

Directors, Senior Management and Employees

     95   
 

Directors, Key Officers and Advisors

     95   
 

Terms of Office

     101   
 

Family Relationships

     101   
 

Compensation of Key Management Personnel

     101   
 

Long-term Incentive Plan

     102   
 

Share Ownership

     103   
 

Board Practices

     103   
 

Audit, Governance and Nomination, Executive Compensation and Technology Strategy Committees

     103   
 

Directors’ and Officers’ Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings

     106   
 

Employees and Labor Relations

     107   
 

Pension and Retirement Benefits

     108   

        Item 7.

 

Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions

     109   
 

Related Party Transactions

     110   

        Item 8.

 

Financial Information

     110   
 

Consolidated Financial Statements and Other Financial Information

     110   
 

Legal Proceedings

     110   
 

Dividend Distribution Policy

     112   

        Item 9.

 

The Offer and Listing

     112   
 

Common Capital Stock and American Depositary Shares

     112   

 

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        Item 10.

 

Additional Information

     113   
 

Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws

     113   
 

Material Contracts

     113   
 

Exchange Controls and Other Limitations Affecting Securities Holders

     114   
 

Taxation

     114   
 

Documents on Display

     117   

        Item 11.

 

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risks

     117   
 

Liquidity Risk

     117   
 

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk

     120   
 

Interest Rate Risk

     121   
 

Credit Risk

     123   
 

Impairment Assessments

     126   
 

Capital Management Risk

     126   

        Item 12.

 

Description of Securities Other than Equity Securities

     127   

PART II

  

        Item 13.

 

Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies

     127   

        Item 14.

 

Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds

     127   

        Item 15.

 

Controls and Procedures

     128   

        Item 16A.

 

Audit Committee Financial Expert

     128   

        Item 16B.

 

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

     128   

        Item 16C.

 

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

     135   

        Item 16D.

 

Exemption from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees

     136   

        Item 16E.

 

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchaser

     136   

        Item 16F.

 

Change in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant

     136   

        Item 16G.

 

Corporate Governance

     136   

        Item 16H.

 

Mine Safety Disclosure

     136   

PART III

  

        Item 17.

 

Financial Statements

     137   

        Item 18.

 

Financial Statements

     137   

        Item 19.

 

Exhibits

     271   

EXHIBIT INDEX

     273   

CERTIFICATION

     326   

 

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CERTAIN CONVENTIONS AND TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT

Unless the context indicates or otherwise requires, references to “we,” “us,” “our” or “PLDT Group” mean Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, and references to “PLDT” mean Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, not including its consolidated subsidiaries (see Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for a list of these subsidiaries, including a description of their respective principal business activities).

Any discrepancies in any table between totals and the sums of the amounts listed are due to rounding.

All references to the “Philippines” contained in this report mean the Republic of the Philippines and all references to the “U.S.” or the “United States” are to the United States of America.

In this report, unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, all references to “pesos,” “Philippine pesos” or “Php” are to the lawful currency of the Philippines, all references to “dollars,” “U.S. dollars” or “US$” are to the lawful currency of the United States and all references to “Japanese yen,” “JP¥” or “¥” are to the lawful currency of Japan. Unless otherwise indicated, conversion of peso amounts into U.S. dollars in this report were made based on the volume weighted average exchange rate quoted through the Philippine Dealing System, which was Php44.40 to US$1.00 on December 31, 2013. On March 28, 2014, the volume weighted average exchange rate quoted was Php45.00 to US$1.00.

In this annual report, each reference to:

 

   

ACeS Philippines means ACeS Philippines Cellular Satellite Corporation, an 88.5%-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

ADRs means American Depositary Receipts;

 

   

ADSs means American Depositary Shares;

 

   

AGS means ABM Global Solutions, Inc., a 99.2%-owned subsidiary of ePLDT;

 

   

AGS Group means AGS and its subsidiaries;

 

   

ARPU means average revenue per user;

 

   

Bayan means Bayan Telecommunications, Inc.;

 

   

BCC means Bonifacio Communications Corporation, a 75.0%-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

Beacon means Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., 50.0%-owned by PCEV;

 

   

Beta means Asia Outsourcing Beta Limited;

 

   

BIR means Bureau of Internal Revenue;

 

   

BPO means business process outsourcing;

 

   

BSP means Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas;

 

   

BTFHI means BTF Holdings, Inc., a wholly-owned company of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund;

 

   

BTS means base transceiver station;

 

   

CBA means collective bargaining agreement;

 

   

CEO means chief executive officer;

 

   

CG means Corporate Governance;

 

   

CG Manual means PLDT Manual on Corporate Governance;

 

   

CGO means Corporate Governance Office;

 

   

Chikka means Chikka Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart;

 

   

Chikka Group means Chikka and its subsidiaries;

 

   

Cignal TV means Cignal TV, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Satventures, Inc.;

 

   

ClarkTel means PLDT Clark Telecom, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

CMTS means cellular mobile telephone system;

 

   

Code of Ethics means PLDT’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics;

 

   

CPCN means Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity;

 

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CURE means Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprise, Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of PHC;

 

   

DFON means domestic fiber optic network;

 

   

Digitel means Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc., a 99.6%-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

Digitel Group means Digitel and its subsidiaries;

 

   

DMPI means Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., owns the brand name Sun Cellular and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digitel;

 

   

DSL means digital subscriber line;

 

   

ECC means Executive Compensation Committee;

 

   

ePLDT means ePLDT, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

EPS means earnings per share;

 

   

FECL means Far East Capital Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart;

 

   

First Pacific means First Pacific Company Limited;

 

   

First Pacific Group means First Pacific and its Philippine affiliates;

 

   

FTTH means Fiber-to-the-Home;

 

   

GAAP means generally accepted accounting principles;

 

   

Globe means Globe Telecom, Inc.;

 

   

GNC means Governance and Nomination Committee;

 

   

GSM means global system for mobile communications;

 

   

HB means House Bill;

 

   

IAS means International Accounting Standards;

 

   

I-Contacts means I-Contacts Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart;

 

   

ICT means information and communications technology;

 

   

IFRS means International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board;

 

   

IGF means international gateway facility;

 

   

IP means internet protocol;

 

   

IPCDSI means IP Converge Data Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of ePLDT;

 

   

ISP means internet service providers;

 

   

JG Summit Group means JG Summit Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries;

 

   

JGSHI means JG Summit Holdings, Inc.;

 

   

LEC means local exchange carrier;

 

   

LTIP means long-term incentive plan;

 

   

MIC means Mabuhay Investments Corporation (formerly Mabuhay Satellite Corporation), a 67.0%-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

Maratel means PLDT-Maratel, Inc., a 98.0%-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

MediaQuest means MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., a wholly-owned entity of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund;

 

   

Meralco means Manila Electric Company;

 

   

MPIC means Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, a subsidiary of First Pacific;

 

   

MPRI means Metro Pacific Resources, Inc.;

 

   

MVNO means mobile virtual network operations;

 

   

NGN means Next Generation Network;

 

   

NTC means the National Telecommunications Commission of the Philippines;

 

   

NTT means Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation;

 

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NTT Communications means NTT Communications Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTT;

 

   

NTT DOCOMO means NTT DOCOMO, Inc., a majority-owned and publicly traded subsidiary of NTT;

 

   

NTTC-UK means NTT Communications Capital (UK) Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTT Communications;

 

   

NYSE means New York Stock Exchange;

 

   

PAPTELCO means Philippine Association of Private Telephone Companies, Inc.;

 

   

PCD means PCD Nominee Corporation;

 

   

PCEV means PLDT Communications and Energy Ventures, Inc., a 99.8%-owned subsidiary of Smart;

 

   

PDRs means Philippine Depositary Receipts;

 

   

PDSI means Primeworld Digital Systems, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart;

 

   

PFRS means Philippine Financial Reporting Standards;

 

   

PGIC means Philippine Global Investments Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT Global;

 

   

PGIH means Philippine Global Investments Holdings, Inc. (formerly SPi Global Holdings, Inc.), a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

PGNL means Pilipinas Global Network Limited, a 60%-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

PHC means PH Communications Holdings Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart;

 

   

Philcom means PLDT-Philcom, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

Philcom Group means Philcom and its subsidiaries;

 

   

Philippine SEC means the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission;

 

   

Philweb means Philweb Corporation;

 

   

PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund means the beneficial trust fund created by PLDT to pay the benefits under the PLDT Employees’ Benefit Plan;

 

   

PLDT Global means PLDT Global Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

PLP means PLDT Landline Plus;

 

   

PSE means the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc.;

 

   

PTIC means Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corporation;

 

   

Satventures means Satventures, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mediaquest;

 

   

SBI means SmartBroadband, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart;

 

   

SHPL means Smarthub Pte. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart;

 

   

SIM means Subscriber Identification Module;

 

   

Smart means Smart Communications, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

SME means small and medium enterprises;

 

   

SMHC means Smart Money Holdings Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart;

 

   

SMS means Short Messaging Service;

 

   

SRC means the Securities Regulation Code of the Philippines;

 

   

SRF means Supervision and Regulation Fees;

 

   

SubicTel means PLDT Subic Telecom, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT;

 

   

TSC means the Technology Strategy Committee;

 

   

U.S. SEC means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission;

 

   

VAS means Value-Added Service;

 

   

VAT means Value-Added Tax;

 

   

VoIP means Voice over Internet Protocol;

 

   

Voyager means Voyager Innovations, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart;

 

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W-CDMA means Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access;

 

   

WiMAX means Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access; and

 

   

Wolfpac means Wolfpac Mobile, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smart.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some information in this report may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current beliefs, expectations and intentions as to facts, actions and events that will or may occur in the future. Such statements are generally identified by forward-looking words such as “believe,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “will” or other similar words.

A forward-looking statement may include a statement of the assumptions or bases underlying the forward-looking statement. We have chosen these assumptions or bases in good faith. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, some of which are beyond our control. In addition, these forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are not a guarantee of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from information contained in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including, without limitation, the risk factors set forth in Item 3. “Key Information – Risk Factors.” When considering forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the description of risks and other cautionary statements in this report.

You should also keep in mind that any forward-looking statement made by us in this report or elsewhere speaks only as at the date on which we made it. New risks and uncertainties come up from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events or how they may affect us. We have no duty to, and do not intend to, update or revise the statements in this report after the date hereof. In light of these risks and uncertainties, you should keep in mind that actual results may differ materially from any forward-looking statement made in this report or elsewhere.

PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Our consolidated financial statements as at December 31, 2013 and 2012 and January 1, 2012 and for the three years in the period ended December 31, 2013, included in Item 18. “Financial Statements” of this annual report on Form 20-F have been prepared in conformity with IFRS.

In accordance with rule amendments adopted by the U.S. SEC, which became effective on March 4, 2008, we do not provide reconciliation to U.S. GAAP.

As at December 31, 2013, our chief operating decision maker, or our Management Committee, views our business activities in three business units: Wireless, Fixed Line and Others. On December 4, 2012, our Board of Directors authorized the sale of our BPO segment, which was completed in April 2013. Consequently, as at December 31, 2012, the BPO segment was classified as discontinued operations and a disposal group held-for-sale. The BPO segment met the criteria of an asset to be classified as held-for-sale as at December 31, 2012. The results of operations of our BPO business for the four months ended April 30, 2013 and for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 were presented as discontinued operations. See Item 4. “Information on the Company – Development Activities (2011-2013) – Sale of BPO Segment”, Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Discontinued Operations and Note 3 – Management’s Use of Accounting Judgments, Estimates and Assumptions – Assets Held-for-Sale and Discontinued Operations to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion of the classification of the BPO segment as an asset held-for-sale.

PART I

 

Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisors

Not applicable.

 

Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

Not applicable.

 

Item 3. Key Information

Performance Indicators

We use a number of non-GAAP performance indicators to monitor financial performance. These are summarized below and discussed later in this report.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is measured as net income excluding depreciation and amortization, amortization of intangible assets, asset impairment on noncurrent assets, financing costs, interest income, equity share in net earnings (losses) of associates and joint ventures, foreign exchange gains (losses) – net, gains (losses) on derivative financial instruments – net, provision for (benefit from) income tax and other income (expenses). Adjusted EBITDA is monitored by the management for each business unit separately for purposes of making decisions about resource allocation and performance assessment. Adjusted EBITDA is presented because our management believes that it is widely used by investors in their analysis of the performance of PLDT and can assist them in their comparison of PLDT’s performance with those of other companies in the technology, media and telecommunications sector. We also present Adjusted EBITDA because it is used by some investors as a

 

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way to measure a company’s ability to incur and service debt, make capital expenditures and meet working capital requirements. Companies in the technology, media and telecommunications sector have historically reported Adjusted EBITDA as a supplement to financial measures in accordance with IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net income as an indicator of our performance, nor should Adjusted EBITDA be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or as an alternative to any other measure determined in accordance with IFRS. Unlike net income, Adjusted EBITDA does not include depreciation and amortization or financing costs and, therefore, does not reflect current or future capital expenditures or the cost of capital. We compensate for these limitations by using Adjusted EBITDA as only one of several comparative tools, together with IFRS-based measurements, to assist in the evaluation of operating performance. Such IFRS-based measurements include income before income tax, net income, cash flows from operations and cash flow data. We have significant uses of cash flows, including capital expenditures, interest payments, debt principal repayments, taxes and other non-recurring charges, which are not reflected in Adjusted EBITDA. Our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may be different from the calculation methods used by other companies and, therefore, comparability may be limited.

A reconciliation of our consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to our consolidated net income for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 is presented in Item 5. “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects – Management’s Financial Review” and Note 4 – Operating Segment Information to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

Core Income

Core income is measured as net income attributable to equity holders of PLDT (net income less net income attributable to non-controlling interests), excluding foreign exchange gains (losses) – net, gains (losses) on derivative financial instruments – net (excluding hedge costs), asset impairment on noncurrent assets, nonrecurring gains (losses), net of tax effect of aforementioned adjustments, as applicable, and similar adjustments to equity share in net earnings (losses) of associates and joint ventures. Core income results are monitored by the management for each business unit separately for purposes of making decisions about resource allocation and performance assessment. Also, core income is used by the management as a basis for determining the level of dividend payouts to shareholders and a basis for granting incentives to employees. Core income should not be considered as an alternative to income before income tax or net income determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of our performance. Unlike income before income tax, core income does not include foreign exchange gains and losses, gains and losses on derivative financial instruments, asset impairments and nonrecurring gains and losses. We compensate for these limitations by using core income as only one of several comparative tools, together with IFRS-based measurements, to assist in the evaluation of operating performance. Such IFRS-based measurements include income before income tax and net income. Our calculation of core income may be different from the calculation methods used by other companies and, therefore, comparability may be limited. A reconciliation of our consolidated core income to our consolidated net income for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 is presented in Item 5. “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects – Management’s Financial Review” and Note 4 – Operating Segment Information to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

 

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Selected Financial Data

The selected consolidated financial information below as at December 31, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009 and for the financial years ended December 31, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009, should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, our consolidated financial statements, and the accompanying notes, included elsewhere in Item 18. “Financial Statements” of this annual report on Form 20-F. As disclosed under “Presentation of Financial Information,” our consolidated financial statements as at and for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009 have been prepared and presented in conformity with IFRS.

 

     2013(1)      2013      2012(2)      2011(2, 3)      2010(2)     2009(2)  
     (in millions, except earnings per common share amounts, weighted average number of common shares,
ratio of earnings to fixed charges and dividends declared per common share amounts)
 

Statements of Operations Data:

                

Revenues

   US$ 3,791         Php168,331         Php163,033         Php148,479         Php150,814        Php154,132   

Service revenues

     3,695         164,052         159,738         145,834         148,597        151,706   

Non-service revenues

     96         4,279         3,295         2,645         2,217        2,426   

Expenses(3)

     2,827         125,515         122,529         106,424         95,287        96,016   

Net income (loss) for the year

     798         35,453         36,099         31,218         39,825        40,198   

Continuing operations

     752         33,384         35,556         30,351         40,314        40,784   

Discontinued operations

     47         2,069         543         867         (489     (586

Earnings per common share for the year attributable to equity holders of PLDT

                

Basic

     3.69         163.67         167.07         161.05         210.53        210.94   

Diluted

     3.69         163.67         167.07         160.91         210.53        210.91   

Earnings per common share from continuing operations for the year attributable to equity holders of PLDT

                

Basic

     3.47         154.09         164.55         156.52         213.15        214.08   

Diluted

     3.47         154.09         164.55         156.39         213.15        214.05   

Balance Sheets Data

                

Cash and cash equivalents

     719         31,905         37,161         46,057         36,678        38,319   

Total assets

     9,001         399,638         405,815         401,792         278,083        278,377   

Total long-term debt – net of current portion

     2,003         88,924         102,811         91,273         75,879        86,066   

Total debt(4)

     2,344         104,090         115,792         117,275         89,646        98,729   

Total liabilities

     5,908         262,312         260,081         247,546         180,351        181,006   

Total equity attributable to equity holders of PLDT

     3,089         137,147         145,550         153,860         97,416        96,821   

Weighted average number of common shares for the year (in thousands)

     4,866         216,055         216,055         191,369         186,790        186,916   

Other Data:

                

Depreciation and amortization

     686         30,304         32,354         27,539         25,881        25,159   

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges(5)

     5.7x         5.7x         5.4x         5.9x         7.0x        7.4x   

Net cash provided by operating activities

     1,661         73,763         80,370         79,209         77,260        74,386   

Net cash used in investing activities

     474         21,045         39,058         29,712         23,283        49,132   

Net cash used in financing activities

     1,347         59,813         48,628         40,204         55,322        20,293   

Dividends declared to common shareholders

     852         37,809         36,946         41,460         40,909        38,758   

Dividends declared per common share

     4.03         179.00         171.00         222.00         219.00        207.00   

 

(1) 

We maintain our accounts in Philippine pesos, the functional and presentation currency under IFRS. For convenience, the Philippine peso financial information as at and for the year ended December 31, 2013, has been converted into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of Php44.40 to US$1.00, the rate quoted through the Philippine Dealing System as at December 31, 2013. This conversion should not be construed as a representation that the Philippine peso amounts represent, or have been or could be converted into, U.S. dollars at that rate or any other rate.

(2) 

The 2009 to 2012 results have been adjusted to reflect the adjustments on the application of the Revised IAS 19. See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Changes in Accounting Policies and Disclosures to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion.

(3) 

Includes the Digitel Group’s results of operations for the period from October 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011 and consolidated financial position as at December 31, 2011.

(4) 

Total debt represents the sum of (i) current portion of long-term debt; (ii) long-term debt – net of current portion; and (iii) notes payable.

 

 

(5) 

For purposes of this ratio, “Earnings” consist of: (a) pre-tax income from continuing operations before adjustment for noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries or income or loss from equity investees; (b) fixed charges; (c) amortization of capitalized interest;(d) distributed income of equity investees; and (e) share of pre-tax losses of equity investees for which charges arising from guarantees are included in fixed charges; less the sum of the following: (1) capitalized interest; (2) preference security dividend requirements of consolidated subsidiaries; and (3) the noncontrolling interests in pre-tax income of subsidiaries that have not incurred fixed charges.

“Fixed charges” consist of interest expense and capitalized interest, amortized premiums, discounts and capitalized expenses related to indebtedness, an estimate of interest within rental expense, and preference security dividend requirements of consolidated subsidiaries.

Capital Stock

The following table summarizes PLDT’s capital stock issued and outstanding as at December 31, 2013 and 2012:

 

     December 31,  
     2013      2012  
     (in millions)  

Serial Preferred Stock

     

10% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock

     

HH to II

   Php —         Php —     

Series IV Cumulative Non-convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock

     360         360   

Voting Preferred Stock

     150         150   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
   Php 510       Php 510   

Common Stock

   Php 1,080       Php 1,080   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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Dividends Declared

The following table shows the dividends declared to common shareholders from the earnings for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2012 and 2013:

 

     Date    Amount  

Earnings

   Approved    Record    Payable    Per share      Total Declared  
                    (in pesos)      (in millions)  

2011

   August 2, 2011    August 31, 2011    September 27, 2011      78       Php 14,567   

2011

   March 6, 2012    March 20, 2012    April 20, 2012      63         13,611   

2011

   March 6, 2012    March 20, 2012    April 20, 2012      48         10,371   
           

 

 

    

 

 

 
              189         38,549   
           

 

 

    

 

 

 

2012

   August 7, 2012    August 31, 2012    September 28, 2012      60         12,964   

2012

   March 5, 2013    March 19, 2013    April 18, 2013      60         12,963   

2012

   March 5, 2013    March 19, 2013    April 18, 2013      52         11,235   
           

 

 

    

 

 

 
              172         37,162   
           

 

 

    

 

 

 

2013

   August 7, 2013    August 30, 2013    September 27, 2013      63         13,611   

2013

   March 4, 2014    March 18, 2014    April 16, 2014      62         13,395   

2013

   March 4, 2014    March 18, 2014    April 16, 2014      54         11,667   
           

 

 

    

 

 

 
              179       Php 38,673   
           

 

 

    

 

 

 

Our current dividend policy is to pay out 70% of our core earnings per share taking into consideration the interest of our shareholders as well as our working capital, capital expenditures and debt servicing requirements. The retention of earnings may be necessary to meet the funding requirements of our business expansion and development programs. However, in the event no investment opportunities arise, we may consider the option of returning additional cash to our shareholders in the form of special dividends up to the 30% balance of our core earnings or share buybacks. We were able to declare dividend payouts of approximately 100% of our core earnings for the seven consecutive years from 2007 to 2013. The accumulated equity in the net earnings of our subsidiaries, which form part of our retained earnings, is not available for distribution unless realized in the form of dividends from such subsidiaries. Dividends are generally paid in Philippine pesos. In the case of shareholders residing outside the Philippines, PLDT’s transfer agent in Manila, Philippines, which acts as the dividend-disbursing agent, converts the Philippine peso dividends into U.S. dollars at the prevailing exchange rates and remits the dollar dividends abroad, net of any applicable withholding tax.

Our subsidiaries pay dividends subject to the requirements of applicable laws and regulations and availability of unrestricted retained earnings, without any restriction imposed by the terms of contractual agreements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the declaration and payment of such dividends depends upon the respective subsidiary’s results of operations and future projects, earnings, cash flow, financial condition, capital investment requirements and other factors.

Dividends Paid

The following table shows a summary of dividends paid per share of PLDT’s common stock stated in both Philippine peso and U.S. dollars:

 

     In Philippine Peso      In U.S. Dollars  

2009

     207.00         4.30   

Regular Dividend – April 21, 2009

     70.00         1.45   

Regular Dividend – September 22, 2009

     77.00         1.62   

Special Dividend – April 21, 2009

     60.00         1.24   

2010

     219.00         4.95   

Regular Dividend – April 20, 2010

     76.00         1.71   

Regular Dividend – September 21, 2010

     78.00         1.78   

Special Dividend – April 20, 2010

     65.00         1.46   

2011

     222.00         5.10   

Regular Dividend – April 19, 2011

     78.00         1.80   

Regular Dividend – September 27, 2011

     78.00         1.78   

Special Dividend – April 19,2011

     66.00         1.52   

2012

     171.00         4.04   

Regular Dividend – April 20, 2012

     63.00         1.48   

Regular Dividend – September 28, 2012

     60.00         1.44   

Special Dividend – April 20,2012

     48.00         1.12   

2013

     175.00         4.18   

Regular Dividend – April 18, 2013

     60.00         1.39   

Regular Dividend – September 27, 2013

     63.00         1.53   

Special Dividend – April 18, 2013

     52.00         1.26   

Dividends on PLDT’s common stock were declared and paid in Philippine pesos. For the convenience of the reader, the Philippine peso dividends are converted into U.S. dollars based on the Philippine Dealing System Reference Rate on the respective dates of dividend payments.

 

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Exchange Rates

The Philippine government does not administratively fix the exchange rate between the Philippine peso and the U.S. dollar. Since August 1, 1992, a market average rate has been determined daily in inter-bank trading using the Philippine Dealing System, known as the Philippine Dealing System Reference Rate. The Philippine Dealing System is a specialized off-floor direct dealing service for the trading of Philippine pesos-U.S. dollars by member banks of the Bankers Association of the Philippines, or BAP, and BSP, the central bank of the Philippines. All members of the BAP are required to make their Philippine peso-U.S. dollar trades through this system, which was established by Telerate Financial Information Network of Hong Kong.

The following table shows the exchange rates between the Philippine peso and the U.S. dollar, expressed in Philippine pesos per U.S. dollar, for the periods indicated, based on the volume-weighted average exchange rate for each business day in each of the periods presented:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     Period End      Average(1)      High(2)      Low(3)  

2009

   Php 46.43       Php 47.82       Php 45.95       Php 49.06   

2010

     43.81         45.10         42.52         46.98   

2011

     43.92         43.28         41.96         44.59   

2012

     41.08         42.14         40.86         44.25   

2013

     44.40         42.66         40.57         44.66   

2014 (through March 28, 2014)

     45.00         45.00         44.34         45.41   

 

Source: Philippine Dealing System Reference Rate

 

(1) 

Calculated by using the average of the exchange rates on the last day of each month during the period.

(2) 

Highest exchange rate for the period.

(3) 

Lowest exchange rate for the period.

 

     Month  
     Period End      Average(1)      High(2)      Low(3)  

2013

           

September

     Php43.54         Php43.78         Php43.07         Php44.56   

October

     43.25         43.17         43.07         43.41   

November

     43.76         43.58         43.23         43.88   

December

     44.40         44.14         43.69         44.49   

2014

           

January

     45.34         44.97         44.34         45.40   

February

     44.66         44.86         44.52         45.41   

March (through March 28, 2014)

     45.00         44.80         44.44         45.24   

 

Source: Philippine Dealing System Reference Rate

 

(1) 

Calculated by using the average of the exchange rates during the month.

(2) 

Highest exchange rate for the month.

(3) 

Lowest exchange rate for the month.

This report contains conversions of Philippine peso amounts into U.S. dollars for your convenience. Unless otherwise specified, these conversions were made at the Philippine Dealing System Reference Rate as at December 31, 2013 of Php44.40 to US$1.00. You should not assume that such Philippine peso amounts represent such U.S. dollar amounts or could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars at the rate indicated, or at any particular rate. As at March 28, 2014, the exchange rate quoted through the Philippine Dealing System was Php45.00 to US$1.00. Unless otherwise specified, the weighted average exchange rate of the Philippine peso to the U.S. dollar for a given year used in the following discussions in this report was calculated using the average of the daily exchange rates quoted through the Philippine Dealing System during the year.

Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

Risk Factors

You should carefully consider all of the information in this annual report, including the risks and uncertainties described below. If any of the following risks actually occurs, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations and the trading price of our ADSs could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.

 

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Risks Relating to Us

We face competition from well-established telecommunications operators and may face competition from new entrants, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

In 1993, the Philippine government liberalized the Philippine telecommunications industry and opened the Philippine telecommunications market to new entrants. At present, following the acquisition of the Digitel Group by PLDT, the number of major players in the industry has been reduced to three major LECs, eight major IGF providers and two major cellular operators in the country. Many entrants into the Philippine telecommunications market have entered into strategic alliances with foreign telecommunications companies, which provide them access to technology and funding support, as well as service innovations and marketing strategies. We cannot assure you that the number of providers of telecommunications services will not increase in the future or that competition for customers will not cause our cellular and fixed line subscribers to switch to other operators, or otherwise cause us to increase our marketing expenditures or reduce our rates, resulting in a reduction in our profitability.

Competition in the cellular telecommunications industry is particularly intense, with network coverage, quality of service, product offerings, and price dictating subscriber preference. Recently, operators have grown more aggressive in maintaining and growing market share, especially in light of a maturing market. Our principal cellular competitor, Globe, has introduced aggressive marketing campaigns and promotions, such as unlimited voice and SMS offers. In the same way, Smart and DMPI are also continuously innovating their product and service offerings and conducting promotions, which may affect their cellular revenue growth. Specifically, in response to the unlimited voice and text offers by Globe, Smart introduced promotions allowing Smart and Talk ‘N Text subscribers to avail of unlimited on-network voice calls or unlimited on-network text messages at a fixed rate. DMPI, on the other hand, strengthened its unlimited plans through improved handset bundle offerings. Due to competition from other well-established telecommunications operators, we cannot assure you that the additional marketing expenses incurred by us for these promotions, nor can we assure you that, in response to rate pressures from our competitors, the potential loss of customers, decrease in rates or the increase in capital expenditures required for our continued capacity expansion necessary to accommodate the continued increases expected in call and text volumes as a result of unlimited voice and text offers, will not, in each case, have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or prospects.

The cellular telecommunications industry may not continue to grow.

The majority of our total revenues are currently derived from the provision of cellular services to customers in the Philippines. As a result, we depend on the continued development and growth of this industry in the Philippines. The cellular penetration rate in the country, however, has already reached an estimated 108% as at December 31, 2013, counting for multiple SIM card ownership, thus the industry may well be considered mature. Further growth of the market depends on many factors beyond our control, including the continued introduction of new and enhanced cellular devices, the price levels of cellular handsets, consumer tastes and preferences and amount of disposable income of existing and potential subscribers. Any economic, technological or other developments resulting in a reduction in demand for cellular services or otherwise causing the Philippine cellular telecommunications industry to stop growing or reducing the rate of its growth, could materially harm our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Our results of operations have been, and may continue to be, adversely affected by competition in, and the introduction of new services, which could put additional pressures on the traditional international and national long distance services.

The international long distance business has historically been one of our major sources of revenue. However, due to competition, the steep decline in international settlement rates that are paid to us by foreign telecommunications carriers for termination of international calls on our network, and the growing popularity of the so-called “over-the-top” service providers that offer social networking, instant messaging and VoIP services, revenues generated from our international long distance business have declined in recent years.

Revenues from international long distance services could continue to decline in the future for a variety of reasons, such as:

 

   

increases in competition from other domestic and international telecommunications providers;

 

   

advances in technology;

 

   

the growing popularity of alternative providers offering “over-the-top” services like social networking, instant messaging, internet telephony, also known as VoIP services; or

 

   

alternative providers of broadband capacity.

The continued high cellular penetration in the Philippines and the prevalence of SMS have negatively impacted our national long distance business in recent years. Moreover, net settlement payments between PLDT and other foreign telecommunications carriers for origination and termination of international call traffic between the Philippines and other countries, which have been our predominant source of foreign currency revenues, have been declining in recent years. A continued decline in our foreign currency revenues could increase our exposure to risks from any possible future declines in the value of the Philippine peso against the U.S. dollar. As a result, we cannot assure you that we will be able to adequately increase our other revenues to make up for any adverse impact of a further decline in our net settlement payments. We cannot assure you that we can generate new revenue streams to fully offset the declines in our traditional fixed line long distance businesses, thus, our revenues and profitability could be materially reduced and our growth and prospects could suffer.

 

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Our business is significantly affected by governmental laws and regulations, including regulations in respect of our franchises, rates and taxes, and laws relating to anti-competitive practices and monopoly.

We operate our business under franchises, each of which is subject to amendment, termination or repeal by the Philippine Congress. Additionally, PLDT operates pursuant to various provisional authorities and CPCNs, which have been granted by the NTC and will expire between now and 2028. Some of PLDT’s CPCNs and provisional authorities have already expired. However, PLDT filed applications for extension of these CPCNs and provisional authorities prior to their respective expiration dates and is therefore entitled to continue to conduct its business under its existing CPCNs and provisional authorities pending the NTC’s decisions on these applications. Because PLDT filed the applications for extension on a timely basis, we expect that these applications will be granted. However, we cannot assure you that the NTC will grant these applications. Smart also operates its cellular, international long distance, national long distance and global mobile personal communications via satellite services as well as international private leased circuits pursuant to CPCNs, which will expire upon the expiration of its franchise. Smart’s franchise is due to expire on March 27, 2017, 25 years after the date on which its current franchise was granted. DMPI’s CPCN to operate and maintain a nationwide CMTS is for a period coterminous with the life of its existing franchise which is valid until December 11, 2027, 25 years after the date of its issuance.

The NTC also regulates the rates we are permitted to charge for services that have not yet been deregulated, such as local exchange services. We cannot assure you that the NTC will not impose additional obligations on us that could lead to the revocation of our licenses if not adhered to and/or to the reduction in our total revenues or profitability. In addition, the NTC could adopt changes to the regulations or implement additional guidelines governing our interconnection with other telecommunications companies or the rates and terms upon which we provide services to our customers. The occurrence of any of these charges could materially reduce our revenues and profitability.

The PLDT Group is also subject to a number of national and local taxes. We cannot assure you that the PLDT Group will not be subject to new, increased and/or additional taxes and that the PLDT Group would be able to impose or pass on additional charges or fees on its customers to compensate for the imposition of such taxes. HB No. 701 proposes to require all telecommunication companies to secure business permits and licenses from the Local Government Unit where their respective cell sites are located. If this bill, or any similar bills, are enacted into law, such legislation could materially reduce our profitability and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We cannot assure you that the PLDT Group will be able to impose additional charges or fees on its customers to compensate for the imposition of such taxes or charges, or for the loss of fees and/or charges.

Moreover, as one of the leading telecommunications service providers in the Philippines for fixed line, cellular and broadband services, we are subject to laws and regulations relating to anti-competitive practices and anti-monopoly. For example, Section 700 of NTC Memorandum Circular No. 8-9-95 requires us to seek the approval of the NTC with respect to rates of non-deregulated services in order to ensure that a healthy competitive environment is fostered within the industry. Also, Article II, Section 4 (g) of Republic Act, or R.A., No. 7925 makes it the policy of the government to pursue a fair and reasonable interconnection of authorized public network operators and other providers of telecommunications services in order to achieve a viable, efficient, reliable and universal telecommunications services. The executive branch of the government has also exhibited strong interest in enforcing anti-competitive and anti-monopolistic measures with the signing by the President of the Philippines of Executive Order, or E.O., No. 45 on June 9, 2011. E.O. No. 45 designated the Department of Justice, or the DOJ, as the Competition Authority and established the Office for Competition under it, to among others, investigate violations of competition laws and prosecute violators thereof. The DOJ’s Department Circular No. 11 implementing E.O. No. 45 took effect on March 1, 2013. While our business practices have not in the past been found to have violated any laws and regulations related to anti-competition and anti-monopoly, we cannot assure you that the relevant governmental regulators will not, in the future, find our business practices to have an anti-competitive effect on the Philippines telecommunications industry, nor can we assure you that we will not be found to have violated the relevant laws and regulations relating to anti-competition and anti-monopoly in the future. For example, prior to the acquisition of the Digitel Group, there were four major LECs (PLDT, Digitel, Innove Communications, Inc. and Bayan) and three cellular service providers (Smart, DMPI and Globe) in the Philippines. On October 26, 2011, we completed the acquisition of the Digitel Group, the operator of Sun Cellular, one of the two other major cellular service providers in the Philippines. As a result of the acquisition, the number of LECs and cellular service providers in the Philippines was reduced to three and two, respectively, leaving Globe as our sole major competitor in the cellular service market. In order to mitigate the apparent anti-competitive effect of the acquisition, we agreed, as part of the NTC’s decision to grant its consent for the acquisition, to divest ourselves of the frequency spectrum and associated licenses held by CURE, one of Smart’s subsidiaries. Any future expansion in our services, particularly in our cellular services, could subject us to additional conditions in the granting of our provisional authorities by the NTC and to increased regulatory scrutiny, which could harm our reputation and business, and which could have a material adverse effect on our growth and prospects. In addition, the occurrence of any such event could impose substantial costs or cause interruptions or considerable delays in the provision, development or expansion of our services. Delay or failure to receive any required franchises, licenses or regulatory approvals could result in the suspension of our services or abandonment of any planned expansions, thereby affecting our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

The NTC may implement proposed changes in existing regulations and introduce new regulations, which may result in increased competition and/or changes in rates, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and profitability.

The NTC may regulate the rates and manner in which we operate and charge our customers.

On July 23, 2009 the NTC issued Memorandum Circular No. 05-07-2009 mandating cellular operators, including Smart and DMPI, to bill subscribers on a maximum six-second per pulse basis instead of the previous per minute basis. The NTC granted Smart and DMPI the provisional authority to charge new rates for the CMTS service and also directed Smart and DMPI to implement a six-second per pulse billing scheme on December 5, 2009. The implementation of this billing scheme is now pending with the Philippine Supreme Court after Smart and DMPI filed their petitions for review of the decision of the Court of Appeals on March 15, 2012 and March 12, 2012, respectively.

On October 24, 2011, the NTC issued Memorandum Circular No. 02-10-2011 directing the reduction of interconnection charges for SMS between two separate networks from Php0.35 to Php0.15 per SMS. The NTC has interpreted this circular to require a reduction in SMS charges charged to end users. Therefore, it initiated administrative cases against the mobile operators for the latter’s failure to implement reduced SMS charges.

 

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The NTC may call on carriers, other industry players and the public in general to public hearings with respect to certain proposed regulations affecting the industry in general or solicit comments from said parties with respect to consultative documents issued by the NTC on major industry issues, like the August 2006 significant market power, or SMP, obligations, which were revived again during the pendency of PLDT’s acquisition of the Digitel Group in 2011. Under the said consultative documents, for example, certain obligations are proposed to be imposed on carriers with SMP by using a roadmap which consists of the following critical processes: (1) defining markets to be used as basis for regulatory intervention; (2) determining if one or several operators in the defined markets have the degree of market power that merit regulatory intervention; (3) identifying appropriate SMP obligations to achieve policy objectives; and (4) determining conditions that justify withdrawal of regulation.

On July 15, 2011, the NTC issued Memorandum Circular No. 7-7-2011 which required broadband service providers to specify the minimum broadband/internet connection speed and service reliability and the service rates in advertisements, flyers, brochures and service agreements. The said Memorandum Circular also set the minimum service reliability of broadband service to 80%.

On December 19, 2011, the NTC issued a Decision in NTC ADM Case 2009-048 which lowered the interconnection charge to/from LEC and to/from CMTS to Php2.50 per minute, from Php4.00 per minute for LEC to CMTS and Php3.00 per minute from CMTS to LEC, making it in parity with each other. PLDT and Smart individually filed on February 1, 2012 and January 20, 2012, respectively, their separate Motions for Reconsideration, which the NTC denied. The parties appealed to the Court of Appeals, reiterating among others, that the NTC erred in ruling that all LECs are automatically entitled to a cross-subsidy; that the NTC decision violates PLDT and Smart’s right to due process; and that the NTC decision violates the Constitutional proscription against non-impairment of contracts. PLDT and Smart’s petitions remain pending with the Court of Appeals. In the meantime, the PAPTELCO has filed a motion for the execution of the NTC decision before the NTC, which remains pending.

A summary of the existing material regulations on our business is set forth in Item 4. “Information on the Company – Material Effects of Regulation on our Business”. Due to the regulatory power of the NTC, as described above, we cannot assure you that the NTC will not impose changes to the current regulatory framework in the future, which could lead to increased competition or negatively affect the rates we can charge for our services. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and prospects.

The franchise of Smart and DMPI may be revoked due to their failure to conduct a public offering of their shares.

In order to diversify the ownership base of public utilities, the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines, or R.A. 7925, requires a telecommunications entity with regulated types of services to make a public offering through the stock exchanges, representing at least 30% of its aggregate common shares within a period of five years from: (a) the date the law first became effective; or (b) the entity’s first start of commercial operations, whichever date is later. As of the latest practicable date, Smart and DMPI have yet to conduct a public offering of their shares. Consequently, the Philippine Congress may revoke the franchise of Smart and DMPI for their failure to comply with the requirement under R.A. 7925 to conduct a public offering of their shares. A quo warranto case may also be filed against Smart and DMPI by the Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines for the revocation of the respective franchises of Smart and DMPI on the ground of violation of R.A. 7925.

Although the position taken by Smart and DMPI is that such provision is merely directory and that the policy underlying the requirement for telecommunication entities to conduct a public offering should be deemed to have been achieved when PLDT acquired a 100% equity interest in Smart in 2000 and Digitel in 2011, which is now majority-owned by PLDT, and which in turn owns a 100% equity interest in DMPI, since PLDT was then and continues to be a publicly listed company, there can be no assurance that the Philippine Congress will agree with such position. In September 2004, Senate Bill No. 1675 was filed seeking to declare that a telecommunications entity shall be deemed to have complied with the requirement of making a public offering of its shares if two-thirds of its outstanding voting stock are owned and controlled directly or indirectly, by a listed company. However, we cannot assure you that such bill will be enacted or that the Philippine Congress will not revoke the franchise of Smart and DMPI or the Office of Solicitor General of the Philippines will not initiate a quo warranto proceeding against Smart and DMPI for the revocation of their respective franchises for failure to comply with the provision under R.A. 7925 to conduct a public offering of shares, the occurrence of any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

If we fail to effect the divestment of CURE in accordance with the terms of, or in a manner contemplated under the NTC’s approval of our acquisition of the Digitel Group, the NTC may revoke its approval of any relevant franchises, licenses or permits held by Smart, any of which could significantly disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

As part of the NTC’s decision to grant its consent to our acquisition of the Digitel Group, we agreed to divest ourselves of the frequency spectrum and associated franchises, licenses and permits held by CURE. Under the terms of the order issued by the NTC on October 26, 2011, (i) CURE must sell its Red Mobile business to Smart; and (ii) Smart will sell all of its rights and interests in CURE whose remaining assets will consist of its congressional franchise, certain frequency spectrum and related permits.

In compliance with the commitments in the divestment plan, CURE completed the sale and transfer of its Red Mobile business to Smart on June 30, 2012 for a total consideration of Php18 million through a series of transactions, such that, except for assets necessary to pay off obligations due after June 30, 2012 and certain tax assets, CURE’s only remaining assets as at June 30, 2012 were its congressional franchise, the 10 MHz of 3G frequency in the 2100 band and related permits.

In a letter dated September 10, 2012, Smart informed the NTC that the minimum Cost Recovery Amount, or CRA, to enable the PLDT Group to recover its investment in CURE, includes, among others, the total cost of equity investments in CURE, advances from Smart for operating requirements, advances from stockholders and associated funding costs. Smart also informed the NTC that the divestment will be undertaken through an auction sale of CURE’s shares of stock to the winning bidder and submitted CURE’s audited financial statements as at June 30, 2012 to the NTC. In a letter dated January 21, 2013, the NTC referred the computation of the CRA to the commissioners of the NTC. Smart sent a reply agreeing to the proposal and is awaiting advice from the NTC on the bidding and auction of the 3G license of CURE.

 

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As at December 31, 2013, CURE is still waiting for NTC’s advice on how to proceed with the planned divestment.

See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Divestment of CURE to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to effect the divestment of CURE within the time or in a manner contemplated under the order issued by the NTC. If we fail to effect the divestment of CURE in accordance with the terms of, or in a manner contemplated under the NTC’s approval of our acquisition of the Digitel Group, the NTC may revoke its approval or any relevant franchises, licenses or permits held by Smart, any of which could significantly disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Rapid changes and advancements in telecommunications technology may adversely affect the economics of our existing businesses and the value of our assets, increase our required capital expenditures and create new competition.

The global telecommunications industry has been characterized by rapid technological changes and advancements, and the Philippine market is not an exception. We cannot assure you that these developments will not result in competition from providers of new telecommunications services or the need to make substantial capital expenditures to transform our existing network infrastructure. Furthermore, the NTC has issued to Smart and our competitors licenses covering 3G cellular services, in respect of which we have made significant investments. We are also continuing to upgrade our fixed-line network to a next generation, all-IP network, expand our wireless broadband network in order to enhance our capability to provide broadband services, as well as upgrade and modernize our wireless cellular network in order to achieve greater operating and cost-efficiencies. However, these projects require and will continue to require significant capital expenditures over the next few years.

In addition, the rapid development of new technologies, new services and products, and new business models has begun to eliminate the distinctions between traditional, local, long distance, wireless, cable and internet communication services and bring new competitors into the telecommunications market. As a result, we are subject to increasing competition from providers offering telecommunications services using alternative technologies. These new competitors, which include internet service providers, mobile device manufacturers and mobile software and application developers, compete against us in both voice and data businesses by offering mobile internet access, alternative voice and messaging services, Over The Top, or OTT, products, and other mobile services and are gaining an increasing share of the telecommunications industry value chain.

Our future success will depend on our ability to anticipate and adapt to these changes and to offer services that meet demands of our customers on a competitive and timely basis. However, we may be unable to obtain new technologies on a timely basis or on satisfactory terms or implement them in an appropriate or effective manner. Future development of new technologies, services or standards could require significant changes to our business model, negatively impact our existing businesses or necessitate new acquisitions or investments. In addition, new products and services may be expensive to develop and may result in increased competition. Such strategic initiatives and technological developments could require us to incur significant additional capital expenditures. As a result, we cannot assure you that we would be able to adopt or successfully implement new technologies, nor can we assure you that future technological changes will not adversely affect our operations or the competitiveness of our services.

We may not be successful in our acquisitions of, and investments in, other companies and businesses, and may therefore be unable to fully implement our business strategy.

As growth slows or reverses in our traditional fixed line and cellular businesses, and as part of our strategy to grow other business segments, we make acquisitions and investments in companies or businesses to enter new businesses or defend our existing markets. Since 2010, we have made a number of significant acquisitions, investments in businesses within and ancillary to the telecommunications sector, including an investment in shares of Meralco through PCEV in 2010, the acquisition of the Digitel Group in 2011 and an investment in PDRs of MediaQuest, the ultimate parent company of Cignal TV, a direct-to-home pay-TV business, in 2012 and other smaller investments in various businesses. The success of our acquisitions and investments depends on a number of factors, such as:

 

   

our ability to identify suitable opportunities for investment or acquisition;

 

   

our ability to reach an acquisition or investment agreement on terms that are satisfactory to us or at all;

 

   

the extent to which we are able to exercise control over the acquired company;

 

   

the economic, business or other strategic objectives and goals of the acquired company compared to those of the PLDT Group, as well as the ability to execute the identified strategies in order to generate fair returns on the investment; and

 

   

our ability to successfully integrate the acquired company or business with our existing businesses.

Any of our contemplated acquisitions and investments may not be consummated due to reasons or factors beyond our control. Even if any contemplated acquisitions and investments are consummated, we may not be able to realize any or all of the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions and investments and we cannot assure you that the consummation of such acquisitions and investments will not result in losses for us for a prolonged period of time. Moreover, if we are unsuccessful in our contemplated acquisitions and investments, we may not be able to fully implement our business strategy to maintain or grow certain of our businesses and our results of operations and financial position could be materially and adversely affected.

 

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If we are unable to install and maintain telecommunications facilities and equipment in a timely manner, we may not be able to maintain our current market share and the quality of our services, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our business requires the regular installation of new, and the maintenance of existing, telecommunications transmission and other facilities and equipment, which are being undertaken. The installation and maintenance of these facilities and equipment are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, such as:

 

   

shortages of equipment, materials and labor;

 

   

work stoppages and labor disputes;

 

   

interruptions resulting from inclement weather and other natural disasters;

 

   

unforeseen engineering, environmental and geological problems; and

 

   

unanticipated cost increases.

Any of these factors could give rise to delays or cost overruns in the installation of new facilities or equipment or could prevent us from properly maintaining the equipment used in our networks, and hence could affect our ability to maintain existing services and roll-out new services, for example, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our businesses depend on the reliability of our network infrastructure which is subject to physical, technological and other risks.

We depend, to a significant degree, on an uninterrupted operation of our network to provide our services. We also depend on robust information technology systems to enable us to conduct our operations. The development and operation of telecommunications networks are subject to physical, technological and other risks, which may cause interruptions in service or reduced capacity for customers. These risks include but are not limited to:

 

   

physical damage;

 

   

power loss;

 

   

capacity limitation;

 

   

cable theft;

 

   

software defects; and

 

   

breaches of security by computer viruses, break-ins or otherwise.

The occurrence of any of the above events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to provide services to customers. While we are undertaking initiatives to prevent and/or mitigate the occurrence of these events, including the preparation of a disaster recovery plan that aims to allow restoration of service at the earliest possible time from occurrence of an incident, there can be no assurance that these events will not occur or that our initiatives will be effective should such events occur.

We are exposed to cyber security risks, which may include the gaining of unauthorized access, data corruption, possible theft of intellectual property, stakeholder information or other sensitive data, the occurrence of any of which could significantly disrupt our business and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and stakeholder confidence.

Over the years, our continued dependence on the latest digital technologies in conducting our operations exposes our business to risks associated with cyber incidents. These cyber incidents may range from unintentional events to deliberate attacks. These may be carried out by parties with the intention to bring about something as simple as plain disruption of our operations to something as destructive as breaching our network security. To date, we have not been subject to cyber attacks or other cyber incidents which, individually or in the aggregate, have had a material impact on our operations or financial condition. However, some network attacks can cause our telecommunications services or internal systems to be unavailable. Others, such as SPAM, can disrupt our business communication. Some network attacks, such as brute force attack, may even cause the disclosure of confidential information.

In order to minimize our exposure to cyber security risks, we have deployed a multi-layered defense mechanism from the network to the host and up to the application level, so that if one defensive measure fails, there are other defensive measures which will continue to provide protection. However, we cannot assure you that any of such defenses will be effective against or neutralize the effects of any cyber incidents resulting from unintentional cyber security breaches or deliberate attacks on our network infrastructure or computer systems, nor can we assure you that our business will not be significantly disrupted in the event of such security breach or attack. If we fail to timely and effectively prevent the occurrence of any such cyber security incidents, or fail to promptly rectify any such incidents, our business could be significantly disrupted, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected, and the confidence of our stakeholders could be lost.

Our businesses require substantial capital investment, which we may not be able to finance.

Our projects under development and the continued maintenance and improvement of our networks and services, including Smart’s projects, networks, platforms and

 

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services, require substantial ongoing capital investment. Our consolidated capital expenditures totaled Php28,838 million, Php36,396 million and Php31,207 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. We currently estimate that our consolidated capital expenditures in 2014 will be approximately Php32 billion, of which approximately Php17 billion is estimated to be spent by Smart, approximately Php12 billion is estimated to be spent by PLDT; approximately Php1 billion is estimated to be spent by DMPI; and the balance represents the estimated capital spending of our other subsidiaries. Smart’s capital spending is currently anticipated to focus on building out its coverage, leveraging the capabilities of its newly modernized network, expanding its transmission network, increasing international bandwidth capacity and expanding its 3G and wireless broadband networks in order to enhance its data transmission capabilities. Smart also contemplates enhancing its network and platforms infrastructure and systems to support solutions deployment, campaign analytics and service delivery to enable customized and targeted services. PLDT’s capital spending is currently intended principally to continue the build-out and upgrade of its broadband data and IP infrastructures, its fixed line data services and to maintain its network. DMPI’s capital spending is currently anticipated to further expand its mainstream services and integration with the PLDT Group network of its core and transmission network to increase penetration, mainly in provincial areas to achieve greater business benefits from a closely synergized environment.

Future strategic initiatives could require us to incur significant additional capital expenditures. We may be required to finance a portion of our future capital expenditures from external financing sources, which have not yet been fully arranged. There can be no assurance that financing for new projects will be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all. If we cannot complete our development programs or other capital projects on time due to our failure to obtain the required financing, our growth, results of operations, financial condition and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

Our debt instruments contain restrictive covenants which require us to maintain certain financial tests and our indebtedness could impair our ability to fulfill our financial obligations and service our other debt.

As at December 31, 2013 and 2012, our consolidated long-term debt amounted to Php104,090 million, or US$2,344 million, and Php115,792 million, or US$2,819 million, respectively, and accounted for a 0.8 times debt to equity ratio, calculated as long-term debt on a consolidated basis, divided by total equity attributable to equity holders of PLDT. Our existing debt instruments contain covenants which, among other things, require PLDT to maintain certain financial ratios and other financial tests, calculated on the basis of PFRS at relevant measurement dates, principally at the end of each quarter period. For a description of some of these covenants, see Note 20 – Interest-bearing Financial Liabilities to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

Our indebtedness and the requirements and limitations imposed by our debt covenants could have important consequences. For example, we may be required to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow to payments on our indebtedness, which could reduce the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate requirements.

The principal factors that can negatively affect our ability to comply with the financial ratios and other financial tests under our debt instruments are depreciation of the Philippine peso relative to the U.S. dollar, poor operating performance of PLDT and our consolidated subsidiaries, impairment or similar charges in respect of investments or other long-lived assets that may be recognized by PLDT and its consolidated subsidiaries, and increases in our interest expenses. Of our total consolidated debts, 57% and 45% were denominated in foreign currencies as at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, principally in U.S. dollars, many of these financial ratios and other tests are expected to be negatively affected by any weakening of the Philippine peso.

We have maintained compliance with all of our financial ratios and covenants, as measured under PFRS, under our loan agreements and other debt instruments. However, if negative factors adversely affect our financial ratios, we may be unable to maintain compliance with these ratios and covenants. Inability to comply with the financial ratios and covenants could result in a declaration of default and acceleration of maturities of some or all of our indebtedness.

If we are unable to meet our debt service obligations or comply with our debt covenants, we could be forced to restructure or refinance our indebtedness, seek additional equity capital or sell assets. An inability to effect these measures successfully could result in a declaration of default and an acceleration of maturities of some or all of our indebtedness, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our results of operations and our financial position could be materially and adversely affected if the Philippine peso significantly fluctuates against the U.S. dollar.

A substantial portion of our indebtedness, related interest expenses, our capital expenditures and a portion of our expenses are denominated in U.S. dollars and other foreign currencies, whereas most of our revenues are denominated in Philippine pesos. As at December 31, 2013, 57% of our total consolidated indebtedness was foreign currency-denominated, of which approximately 48% of our total consolidated indebtedness was unhedged. As at December 31, 2012, approximately 45% of our total consolidated indebtedness was foreign currency-denominated, of which approximately 38% of our total consolidated indebtedness was unhedged.

A depreciation of the Philippine peso against the U.S. dollar would increase the amount of our U.S. dollar-denominated debt obligations and operating and interest expenses in Philippine peso terms. In the event that the Philippine peso depreciates against the U.S. dollar, we may be unable to generate enough funds through operations and other means to offset the resulting increase in our obligations in Philippine peso terms. Moreover, a depreciation of the Philippine peso against the U.S. dollar may result in our recognition of significant foreign exchange losses, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations. A depreciation of the Philippine peso could also cause us not to be in compliance with the financial covenants imposed on us by our lenders under certain loan agreements and other indebtedness. Further, fluctuations in the Philippine peso value and of interest rates impact the mark-to-market gains/losses of certain of our financial debt instruments, which were designated as non-hedged items.

Approximately, 21% of our consolidated service revenues were denominated in U.S. dollars and/or were linked to the U.S. dollar for the year ended December 31, 2013 as compared with approximately 21% and 30% for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Approximately 11% of our consolidated expense were denominated in U.S. dollars and/or linked to the U.S. dollar for the year ended December 31, 2013 as compared with approximately 12% and 17% for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. In this respect, the appreciation of the weighted average exchange rate of the Philippine peso against the U.S. dollar decreased our revenues and expenses, and consequently, affects our cash flow from operations in Philippine peso terms.

 

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The Philippine peso has been subject to significant fluctuations in recent years. From 2009 to 2012, the Philippine peso appreciated from Php47.26 as at January 5, 2009 to Php41.08 as at December 31, 2012 and a high of Php40.86 on December 5, 2012, only to depreciate by approximately 8% to Php44.40 as at December 31, 2013. We cannot assure you that the Philippine peso will not depreciate further and be subject to significant fluctuations going forward, due to a range of factors, including:

 

   

political and economic developments affecting the Philippines, including the level of remittances from overseas Filipino workers;

 

   

global economic and financial trends;

 

   

the volatility of regional currencies, particularly the Japanese yen;

 

   

any interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States; and

 

   

changes in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to Philippine peso, resulting from events such as higher demand for U.S. dollars by both banks and domestic businesses to service their maturing U.S. dollar obligations or foreign exchange traders including banks covering their short U.S. dollar positions, among others.

Our subsidiaries could be limited in their ability to pay dividends to us due to internal cash requirements and their creditors having superior claims over their assets and cash flows, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition.

A majority of our total revenues and cash flow from operations is derived from our subsidiaries, particularly Smart. Smart has significant internal cash requirements for debt service, capital expenditures and operating expenses and as a result, may be financially unable to pay any dividends to PLDT. Although Smart has been making dividend payments to PLDT regularly since December 2002, there can be no assurance that PLDT will continue to receive these dividends or other distributions, or otherwise be able to derive liquidity from Smart or any other subsidiary or investee in the future.

Creditors of our subsidiaries generally have priority claims over our subsidiaries’ assets and cash flows. We and our creditors will effectively be subordinated to the existing and future indebtedness and other liabilities, including trade payables, of our subsidiaries, except that we may be recognized as a creditor with respect to loans we have made to subsidiaries. If we are recognized as a creditor of a subsidiary, our claim will still be subordinated to any indebtedness secured by assets of the subsidiary and any indebtedness of the subsidiary otherwise deemed superior to the indebtedness we hold.

We may have difficulty meeting our debt payment obligations if we do not continue to receive cash dividends from our subsidiaries and our financial condition could be materially and adversely affected as a result.

A significant number of shares of PLDT’s voting stocks (common and voting preferred stocks) are held by four shareholders, which may not act in the interests of other shareholders or stakeholders in PLDT.

The First Pacific Group and its Philippine affiliates had beneficial ownership of approximately 26% in PLDT’s outstanding common stock as at December 31, 2013, taking into account shares purchased from JGSHI pursuant to an option agreement in connection with the Digitel acquisition. This is the largest block of PLDT’s common stock that is directly or indirectly under common ownership.

Pursuant to publicly available filings made with the PSE, as at December 31, 2013, NTT Communications and NTT DOCOMO together beneficially owned approximately 20% of PLDT’s outstanding common stock, taking into account shares purchased from JGSHI pursuant to an option agreement in connection with the Digitel acquisition.

On October 26, 2011, PLDT completed the acquisition of a controlling interest in Digitel from JGSHI, and certain other seller-parties. As payment for the assets acquired from JGSHI, PLDT issued approximately 27.7 million common shares. In November 2011, JGSHI sold 5.81 million and 4.56 million PLDT shares to a Philippine affiliate of First Pacific and NTT DOCOMO, respectively, pursuant to separate option agreements that JGSHI had entered into with a Philippine affiliate of First Pacific and NTT DOCOMO, respectively. As at December 31, 2013, the JG Summit Group owned approximately 8% of PLDT’s outstanding common shares.

First Pacific and certain of its affiliates, or the FP Parties, NTT Communications, NTT DOCOMO and PLDT entered into a Cooperation Agreement, dated January 31, 2006, pursuant to which, among other things, certain rights of NTT Communications under the Stock Purchase and Strategic Investment Agreement dated September 28, 1999, or the Strategic Agreement, and the Shareholders Agreement dated March 24, 2000, or the Shareholders Agreement, were extended to NTT DOCOMO. See Item 7. “Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions” for further details regarding the shareholdings of NTT Communications and NTT DOCOMO in PLDT. As a result of the Cooperation Agreement, NTT Communications and NTT DOCOMO, in coordination with each other, have contractual veto rights over a number of major decisions and transactions that PLDT could make or enter into, including:

 

   

capital expenditures in excess of US$50 million;

 

   

any investments, if the aggregate amount of all investments for the previous 12 months is greater than US$25 million in the case of all investments to any existing investees and US$100 million in the case of all investments to any new or existing investees, determined on a rolling monthly basis;

 

   

any investments in a specific investee, if the cumulative value of all investments made by us in that investee is greater than US$10 million in the case of an existing investee and US$50 million in the case of a new investee;

 

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issuance of common stock or stock that is convertible into common stock;

 

   

new business activities other than those we currently engage in; and

 

   

merger or consolidation.

Pursuant to amendments effected by the Cooperation Agreement to the Stock Purchase and Strategic Investment Agreement and the Shareholders Agreement, upon NTT Communications and NTT DOCOMO and their respective subsidiaries owning in the aggregate 20% or more of PLDT’s shares of common stock and for as long as they continue to own in the aggregate at least 17.5% of PLDT’s shares of common stock then outstanding, NTT DOCOMO has additional rights under the Stock Purchase and Strategic Investment Agreement and Shareholders Agreement, including that:

 

   

NTT DOCOMO is entitled to nominate one additional NTT DOCOMO nominee to the board of directors of each of PLDT and Smart;

 

   

PLDT must consult NTT DOCOMO no later than 30 days prior to the first submission to the board of PLDT or certain of its committees of any proposal of investment in an entity that would primarily engage in a business that would be in direct competition or substantially the same business opportunities, customer base, products or services with business carried on by NTT DOCOMO, or which NTT DOCOMO has announced publicly an intention to carry on;

 

   

PLDT must procure that Smart does not cease to carry on its business, dispose of all of its assets, issue common shares, merge or consolidate, or effect winding up or liquidation without PLDT first consulting with NTT DOCOMO no later than 30 days prior to the first submission to the board of PLDT or Smart, or certain of its committees; and

 

   

PLDT must first consult with NTT DOCOMO no later than 30 days prior to the first submission to the board of PLDT or certain of its committees for the approval of any transfer of Smart’s common capital stock by any member of the PLDT Group to any person who is not a member of the PLDT Group.

Additionally, PLDT’s shares of voting preferred stock which represents approximately 41% of total outstanding shares of voting stocks are owned by a single stockholder, BTFHI.

As a result of their respective stockholdings, the FP Parties and/or NTT Communications and/or NTT DOCOMO and/or BTFHI are able to influence our actions and corporate governance, including:

 

   

elections of PLDT’s directors; and

 

   

approval of major corporate actions, which require the vote of holders of common and voting preferred stocks.

The FP Parties and/or NTT Communications and/or NTT DOCOMO and/or BTFHI may exercise their respective voting rights over these decisions and transactions in a manner that could be contrary to the interests of other shareholders or stakeholders in PLDT.

Failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 could adversely impact investor confidence and the market price of our common shares and ADSs, and have a material adverse effect on our business, our reputation, financial condition and results of operations.

Effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide reasonable assurance with respect to our financial reports and to effectively prevent fraud. If we are unable to provide reasonable assurance with respect to our financial reports and effectively prevent fraud, our reputation and results of operations could be harmed.

We are required to comply with various Philippine and U.S. laws and regulations on internal control. For example, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, beginning with the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006, we have been required to include a report on our internal control over financial reporting in our Annual Reports on Form 20-F that contains an assessment by our management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, an independent registered public accounting firm must express an opinion on our internal control over financial reporting based on its audits.

However, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls, or fraud. Therefore, even effective internal control over financial reporting can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, including our failure to implement required new or improved controls, or if we experience difficulties in their implementation, our business and operating results could be harmed, we could fail to meet our reporting obligations and there could be a material adverse effect on our business, our reputation, financial condition and results of operations, and the market prices of our common shares and ADSs could decline significantly.

We are unionized and are vulnerable to work stoppages, slowdowns or increased labour costs.

As at December 31, 2013, PLDT has three employee unions, representing in the aggregate 5,494, or 31%, of the employees of the PLDT Group. This unionized workforce could result in demands that may increase our operating expenses and adversely affect our profitability. Each of our different employee groups may require separate collective bargaining agreements. If any group of our employees and PLDT are unable to reach agreement on the terms of their collective bargaining agreement or we were to experience widespread employee dissatisfaction, we could be subject to work slowdowns or stoppages. Any of these events would be disruptive to our operations and could harm our business.

 

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Adverse results of any pending or future litigation and/or disputes may impact PLDT’s cash flows, results of operations and financial condition.

PLDT is currently involved in several legal proceedings in the Philippines. Since 1990, PLDT and Eastern Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. (ETPI) have been engaged in legal proceedings involving a number of issues in connection with their business relationship. Accordingly, to avoid further protracted litigation and improve their business relationship, both PLDT and ETPI have agreed in April 2008 to submit their differences and issues to voluntary arbitration. Pursuant to an agreement between PLDT and ETPI, the arbitration proceedings have been suspended.

PLDT is also involved in legal proceedings with various parties regarding Philipine SEC Memorandum Circular No. 8, which was issued in response to the Gamboa Case Decision. On June 10, 2013, Jose M. Roy III as petitioner filed a petition with the Supreme Court against the Chairperson of the Philippine SEC, Teresita Herbosa, the Philippine SEC and PLDT as respondents. The petition primarily questions the constitutionality of the Philippine SEC Guidelines in determining the nationality of a Philippine company pursuant to the Gamboa Case Decision and Section 11, Article XII of the Constitution. PLDT, through counsels, filed its Comment on the Petition on September 5, 2013, challenging the petition. The resolution of the Jose M. Roy III Petition remains pending with the Supreme Court.

In January 2012, Smart and DMPI filed answers to a December 2011 show cause order by the NTC which required an explanation of why SMS retail rates were not lowered after the NTC issued Memorandum Circular No. 02-10-2011, which mandates that interconnection charge for SMS between two separate networks shall not be higher than Php0.15 per SMS. The outcome of the proceedings remain pending.

We are currently involved in various legal proceedings and tax assessments. Our estimate of the probable costs for the resolution of these claims have been developed in consultation with our counsel handling the defense in these matters and is based upon our analysis of potential results. Our future financial performance could be materially affected by changes in our estimates or effectiveness of our strategies relating to these proceedings and assessments.

For more information on PLDT’s legal proceedings, see Item 8. “Financial Information – Legal Proceedings.” While PLDT believes the positions it has taken in these cases are legally valid but the final results of these cases may prove to be different from its expectations. In addition, there is no assurance that PLDT will not be involved in future litigation or other disputes, the results of which may materially and adversely impact its business and financial conditions.

Risks Relating to the Philippines

PLDT’s business may be adversely affected by political or social or economic instability in the Philippines.

The Philippines is subject to political, social and economic volatility that, directly or indirectly, could have a material adverse impact on our ability to sustain our business and growth.

The Philippines has from time to time experienced severe political and social instability, including acts of political violence. On December 12, 2011, the Philippine House of Representatives initiated impeachment proceedings against Renato Corona, then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The impeachment complaint accused Corona of improperly issuing decisions that favored former President Arroyo, as well as failure to disclose certain properties, in violation of rules applicable to all public employees and officials. The trial of Chief Justice Corona began in January 2012. On May 29, 2012, the impeachment court found Corona guilty of failing to disclose to the public his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth and removed Corona from his position as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

In 2013, a major Philippine newspaper exposed a scam relating to the diversion and misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund, or PDAF, by some members of Congress through a pseudo-development organization headed by Janet Lim Napoles. As a result of this exposé, a number of investigations, including one in the Senate of the Philippines, have been launched to determine the extent of the diversion of the PDAF and the government officials and the private individuals responsible for the misappropriation of public funds. Cases of plunder and malversation of public funds are now pending against Janet Lim Napoles, three senators, a few members of the House of Representatives, and other private individuals.

We cannot assure you that the political environment in the Philippines will be stable or that the current or any future government will adopt economic policies that are conducive to sustained economic growth or which do not impact adversely on the current regulatory environment for the telecommunications and other companies.

If foreign exchange controls were to be imposed, our ability to meet our foreign currency payment obligations could be adversely affected.

The Philippine government has, in the past, instituted restrictions on the conversion of the Philippine peso into foreign currencies and the use of foreign exchange received by Philippine companies to pay foreign currency-denominated obligations. The Monetary Board of the BSP has statutory authority, with the approval of the President of the Philippines, during a foreign exchange crisis or in times of national emergency, to:

 

   

suspend temporarily or restrict sales of foreign exchange;

 

   

require licensing of foreign exchange transactions; or

 

   

require the delivery of foreign exchange to the BSP or its designee banks.

We cannot assure you that foreign exchange controls will not be imposed in the future. If imposed, these restrictions could materially and adversely affect our ability to obtain foreign currency to service our foreign currency obligations.

 

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The occurrence of natural catastrophes could materially disrupt our operations.

The Philippines has experienced a number of major natural catastrophes over the years, including floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and typhoons, a recent example of which was Typhoon Yolanda (international name “Haiyan”) in November 2013, the world’s strongest typhoon to date, which caused massive destruction in the Visayan provinces, that may materially disrupt and adversely affect our business operations. The frequency and severity of the occurrence of natural catastrophes and challenges may be further exacerbated through effects of the ongoing global climate change. We cannot assure you that we are fully capable of addressing the impact of these occurrences or that the insurance coverage we maintain will fully compensate us for all the damages and economic losses resulting from these catastrophes.

Continued terrorist activities in the Philippines could destabilize the country, adversely affecting our business environment.

Certain islands in the Philippines have been subject to a number of terrorist attacks and violent crimes in recent years. An increase in the number of terrorist attacks or violent crimes, or the occurrence of a large-scale terrorist attack, in the Philippines could negatively affect the Philippine economy and, therefore, our business, financial position and financial performance. The Philippine army has been in conflict with the Abu Sayyaf organization, which has ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network and has been identified as being responsible for kidnapping and terrorist activities in the Philippines. There has been a series of bombings in the Philippines, mainly in southern cities. Although no one has claimed responsibility for these attacks, Philippine military officials have stated that the attacks appeared to be the work of the Abu Sayyaf organization. There have also been a number of violent crimes in the Philippines, including an isolated incident in August 2010 involving the hijacking of a tour bus carrying 25 Hong Kong tourists in Manila, which resulted in the deaths of eight tourists and prompted the Hong Kong government to declare a travel warning on the Philippines. On January 25, 2011, five people were killed and 13 were injured when an improvised mortar bomb triggered by a mobile phone exploded on a bus in Makati City. In August 2013, a series of bombings occurred in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Cotabato City, and in other areas in Maguindanao and North Cotabato provinces, all located in Mindanao. Early in September 2013, an alleged splinter group of the Moro National Liberation Front took hostages in Zamboanga and initiated an armed aggression versus the Armed Forces of the Philippines. While the Zamboanga standoff situation is improving, the conflict is not yet fully resolved.

There can be no assurance that the Philippines will not be subject to further, or an increased number of, acts of terrorism or violent crimes in the future. Terrorist attacks and violent crimes have, in the past, had a material adverse effect on investment and confidence in, and the performance of, the Philippine economy and, in turn, our business, financial position and financial performance. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that the Philippines will not suffer a large-scale terrorist attack which could impact the Philippine economy for a significant period of time.

Territorial disputes with China and a number of Southeast Asian countries may disrupt the Philippine economy and business environment.

The Philippines, China and several Southeast Asian nations have been engaged in a series of long-standing territorial disputes over certain islands in the West Philippine Sea, also known as the South China Sea. The Philippines maintains that its claim over the disputed territories is supported by recognized principles of international law consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”). The Philippines made several efforts during the course of 2011 and 2012 to establish a framework for resolving these disputes, calling for multilateral talks to delineate territorial rights and establish a framework for resolving disputes.

Despite efforts to reach a compromise, a dispute arose between the Philippines and China over a group of small islands and reefs known as the Scarborough Shoal. In April and May 2012, the Philippines and China accused each other of deploying vessels to the shoal in an attempt to take control of the area, and both sides unilaterally imposed fishing bans at the shoal during later that year. These actions threatened to disrupt trade and other ties between the two countries, including a temporary ban by China on Philippine banana imports, as well as a temporary suspension of tours to the Philippines by Chinese travel agencies. Since July 2012, Chinese vessels have reportedly turned away Philippine fishing boats attempting to enter the shoal, and the Philippines has continued to protest China’s presence there. In January 2013, the Philippines instituted arbitration proceedings under UNCLOS and sent notice to the Chinese embassy in Manila. China has rejected and returned the notice sent by the Philippines to initiate arbitral proceedings. In May 2013, the Philippine Coast Guard shot and killed a Taiwanese fisherman in an area of the South China Sea claimed as an exclusive economic zone by both countries.

In September 2013, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands issued rules of procedure and initial timetable for the arbitration in which it will act as a registry of the proceedings. Should these territorial disputes continue or escalate further, the Philippines and its economy may be disrupted and our operations could be adversely affected as a result. In particular, further disputes between the Philippines and China may lead both countries to impose trade restrictions on the other’s imports. Any such impact from these disputes could adversely affect the Philippine economy, and materially and adversely affect our business, financial position and financial performance.

As a foreign private issuer, we follow certain home country corporate governance practices which may afford less protection to holders of our ADSs.

As a foreign private issuer incorporated in the Philippines and listed on the PSE, we are permitted under applicable NYSE rules to follow certain home country corporate governance practices. The corporate governance practice and requirements in the Philippines do not require us to have a majority of our board of directors to be independent, and do not require us to hold regular executive sessions where only independent directors shall be present. Further, the criteria for independence of directors and audit committee members applicable in the Philippines differ from those applicable under the NYSE rules. Such Philippine home country corporate governance practices may afford less protection to holders of our ADSs.

 

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The credit ratings of the Philippines may restrict the access to capital of Philippine companies, including PLDT.

Historically, the Philippines’ sovereign debt has been rated non-investment grade by international credit rating agencies. Although the Philippines’ long-term foreign currency-denominated debt was recently upgraded by Fitch and Standard & Poor’s to the investment-grade rating of BBB-, and by Moody’s to the investment-grade rating of Baa3, the continued relatively low sovereign ratings of the Government will directly and adversely affect companies domiciled in the Philippines as international credit rating agencies issue credit ratings by reference to that of the sovereign. No assurance can be given that Fitch, Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s or any other international credit rating agency will not downgrade the credit ratings of the Government in the future and, therefore, Philippine companies, including PLDT. Any such downgrade could have an adverse impact on the liquidity in the Philippine financial markets, the ability of the Government and Philippine companies, including PLDT, to raise additional financing, and the interest rates and other commercial terms at which such additional financing is available.

Risks Relating to Our Securities

PLDT is required to comply with foreign ownership restriction under the Philippine Constitution. At present, PLDT believes it has complied with such restriction through the issuance of 150 million shares of its Voting Preferred Stock to BTFHI. There can be no assurance that further interpretations of such law will not require further actions to procure compliance with foreign ownership restriction under the Philippine Constitution.

Section 11, Article XII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that no franchise, certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public utility shall be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations organized under the laws of the Philippines, at least 60% of whose capital is owned by such citizens. On June 28, 2011, the Philippine Supreme Court promulgated a decision in the case of Wilson P. Gamboa vs. Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves, et. al. (G.R. No. 176579) (the “Gamboa Case”), where it has ruled that the term “capital” in Section 11, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution refers only to shares of stock entitled to vote in the election of directors and thus, in the case of PLDT, only to voting common shares, and not to the total outstanding capital stock (common and non-voting preferred shares).

On October 16, 2012, BTFHI subscribed for 150 million newly issued shares of Voting Preferred Stock of PLDT. As a result of the issuance of the shares of Voting Preferred Stock, PLDT’s foreign ownership decreased from 58.4% of outstanding common stock as at October 15, 2012 to 34.5% of outstanding voting stocks (common stock and Voting Preferred Stock) as at October 16, 2012.

On May 30, 2013, the Philippine SEC issued SEC Memorandum Circular No. 8, or the Philippine SEC Guidelines, which provides under Section 2 thereof: “All covered corporations shall, at all times, observe the constitutional or statutory ownership requirement. For purposes of compliance therewith, the required percentage of Filipino ownership shall be applied to both: (a) the total number of outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote in the election of directors; and (b) the total number of outstanding shares of stock, whether or not entitled to vote in the election of directors.” PLDT believes it was, and continues to be, compliant with the Philippine SEC Guidelines. As at end of December 31, 2013, PLDT’s foreign ownership was 31.53% of its outstanding shares entitled to vote (Common and Voting Preferred Shares), and 17.33% of its total outstanding capital stock. Thus, we believe that as of the date of this report, PLDT is in compliance with the requirement of Section 11, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution. See Note 26 – Provisions and Contingencies – Matters Relating to the Gamboa Case and the recent Jose M. Roy III Petition to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion.

However, we cannot assure you that the Philippine SEC or the relevant authorities in the Philippines will view shares of Voting Preferred Stock issued to BTFHI as shares of stock owned by Filipinos entitled to vote in the election of directors for the purpose of determining whether PLDT is in compliance with the 60% to 40% Filipino-alien equity requirement as provided under the Philippine Constitution. As a result, PLDT may be subject to certain sanctions imposed by the Philippine SEC, which may have a material and adverse impact on our reputation, business, financial position and prospects.

 

Item 4. Information on the Company

Overview

We are the leading telecommunications service provider in the Philippines. Through our three principal business segments, wireless, fixed line and others, we offer the largest and most diversified range of telecommunications services across the Philippines’ most extensive fiber optic backbone and wireless, fixed line and satellite networks.

We are the leading fixed line service provider in the Philippines accounting for approximately 69% of the total reported fixed line subscribers nationwide as at December 31, 2013. Smart is the leading cellular service provider in the country, and together with the other PLDT Group cellular service provider, DMPI, account for approximately 66% of total reported cellular subscribers nationwide as at December 31, 2013. We have interests in the BPO sector, including the operation of our customer relationship management and knowledge processing solutions business. In December 2012, our Board of Directors authorized the sale of our BPO business and our BPO segment was classified as a discontinued operation. The sale was completed in April 2013 and US$40 million was reinvested in the BPO business. See Item 4. “Information on the Company – Sale of BPO Segment” for further discussion.

Our common shares are listed and traded on the PSE and our ADSs, evidenced by ADRs, are listed and traded on the NYSE in the United States.

We had a market capitalization of approximately Php576,005 million, or US$12,973 million, as at December 31, 2013, representing one of the largest market capitalizations among Philippine-listed companies. We had total revenues, including revenues from discontinued operations, of Php168,331 million, or US$3,791 million, and net income attributable to equity holders of PLDT of Php35,420 million, or US$798 million for the year ended December 31, 2013.

 

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We operate under the jurisdiction of the NTC, which jurisdiction extends, among other things, to approving major services that we offer and rates that we can charge.

Historical Background and Development

PLDT was incorporated under the old Corporation Law of the Philippines (Act 1459, as amended) on November 28, 1928 as Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, following the merger of four telephone companies under common U.S. ownership. Under its Amended Articles of Incorporation, PLDT’s corporate term is currently limited through 2028. In 1967, effective control of PLDT was sold by the General Telephone and Electronics Corporation, then a major shareholder since PLDT’s incorporation, to a group of Filipino businessmen. In 1981, in furtherance of the then existing policy of the Philippine government to integrate the Philippine telecommunications industry, PLDT purchased substantially all of the assets and liabilities of the Republic Telephone Company, which at that time was the second largest telephone company in the Philippines. In 1998, the First Pacific Group acquired a significant interest in PLDT. On March 24, 2000, NTT Communications, through its wholly-owned subsidiary NTTC-UK, became PLDT’s strategic partner with approximately 15% economic and voting interest in the issued and outstanding common stock of PLDT at that time. Simultaneous with NTT Communications’ investment in PLDT, the latter acquired 100% of Smart. On March 14, 2006, NTT DOCOMO acquired from NTT Communications approximately 7% of PLDT’s then outstanding common shares held by NTT Communications with NTT Communications retaining ownership of approximately 7% of PLDT’s common shares. Since March 14, 2006, NTT DOCOMO has made additional purchases of shares of PLDT, and together with NTT Communications beneficially owned approximately 20% of PLDT’s outstanding common stock as at December 31, 2013. NTT Communications and NTT DOCOMO are subsidiaries of NTT Holding Company. On February 28, 2007, Metro Pacific Asset Holdings, Inc., a Philippine affiliate of First Pacific, completed the acquisition of an approximately 46% interest in PTIC, a shareholder of PLDT. This investment in PTIC represented an attributable interest of approximately 6% of the then outstanding common shares of PLDT and thereby raised the First Pacific Group and its Philippine affiliates’ beneficial ownership to approximately 28% of PLDT’s outstanding common stock as at that date. Since then, First Pacific’s beneficial ownership interest in PLDT decreased by approximately 2%, mainly due to the holders of Exchangeable Notes, which were issued in 2005 by a subsidiary of First Pacific and exchangeable into PLDT shares owned by First Pacific Group, who fully exchanged their notes. First Pacific Group and its Philippine affiliates had beneficial ownership of approximately 26% of PLDT’s outstanding common stock as at December 31, 2013. See Item 7. “Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions” for further discussion.

PLDT’s original franchise was granted in 1928 and was last amended in 1991, extending its effectiveness until 2028 and broadening PLDT’s franchise permitting PLDT to provide virtually every type of telecommunications service. PLDT’s franchise covers the business of providing basic and enhanced telecommunications services in and between the provinces, cities and municipalities in the Philippines and between the Philippines and other countries and territories including mobile, cellular, wired or wireless telecommunications system, fiber optics, multi-channel transmission distribution systems and their VAS such as but not limited to transmission of voice, data, facsimile, control signals, audio and video, information services bureau and all other telecommunications systems technologies, as are at present available or can be made available through technical advances or innovations in the future. Our subsidiaries, including Smart and DMPI, also maintain their own franchises with a different range of services and periods of legal effectiveness for their licenses.

On October 26, 2011, PLDT completed the acquisition of a controlling interest in Digitel from JGSHI and certain other seller-parties. As payment for the assets acquired from JGSHI, PLDT issued approximately 27.7 million common shares. In November 2011, JGSHI sold 5.81 million and 4.56 million PLDT shares to a Philippine affiliate of First Pacific and NTT DOCOMO, respectively, pursuant to separate option agreements that JGSHI had entered into with a Philippine affiliate of First Pacific and NTT DOCOMO, respectively. According to public filings, as at February 28, 2014, the JG Summit Group, First Pacific Group and its Philippine affiliates and NTT Group (NTT DOCOMO, together with NTT Communications) owned approximately 8%, 26% and 20% of PLDT’s outstanding common shares, respectively. See Item 4. “Information on the Company – Development Activities (2011-2013) – PLDT’s Acquisition of a Controlling Interest in Digitel from JGSHI”.

On October 16, 2012, BTF Holdings, Inc., or BTFHI, a wholly-owned company of the Board of Trustees for the Account of the Beneficial Trust Fund, or BTF, created pursuant to PLDT’s benefit plan, subscribed for 150 million newly issued shares of Voting Preferred Stock of PLDT, or Voting Preferred Shares, at a subscription price of Php1.00 per share for a total subscription price of Php150 million pursuant to a subscription agreement dated October 15, 2012 between BTFHI and PLDT. As a result of the issuance of Voting Preferred Shares, the voting power of the NTT Group (NTT DOCOMO and NTT Communications), First Pacific Group and its Philippine affiliates, and JG Summit Group was reduced to 12%, 15% and 5%, respectively, as at December 31, 2013.

Our principal executive offices are located at the Ramon Cojuangco Building, Makati Avenue, Makati City, Philippines and our telephone number is +(632) 816-8534. Our website address is www.pldt.com. The contents of our website are not a part of this annual report.

Recent Developments

IPCDSI’s Acquisition of Rack I.T. Data Center, Inc., or Rack IT

On January 28, 2014, IPCDSI entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement to acquire 100% ownership in Rack IT for an indicative purchase price of Php170 million subject to certain pre-closing price adjustments. Rack IT was incorporated to engage in the business of providing data center services, encompassing all the information technology and facility-related components or activities that support the operations of a data center. As at the date of this report, Rack IT is still at the pre-operating phase and construction of its data center facility, which is located in Sucat, Parañaque, is still ongoing.

PLDT issued Php15 billion Fixed Rate Retail Bonds

On January 23, 2014, the Philippine SEC approved the registration and approved the offering of our peso fixed-rate retail bonds with a base offer size of Php10 billion, with an option for oversubscription of up to Php5 billion.

 

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The bonds were offered to the public on January 24 to 30, 2014. PLDT exercised its oversubscription option and increased the total issue size from Php10 billion to Php15 billion. Of the total issue size, Php12.4 billion was allocated to the seven-year tranche due 2021, or the Fixed Rate Bonds due 2021, with a coupon rate of 5.2250% per annum, and the remaining Php2.6 billion to the ten-year tranche due 2024, or the Fixed Rate Bonds due 2024, with a coupon rate of 5.2813% per annum.

On February 6, 2014, the Fixed Rate Bonds Due 2021 and Fixed Rate Bonds Due 2024 were issued and listed for trading on the Philippine Dealing Exchange. These bonds may be sold and traded only in the Philippines.

Proceeds from the issuance of these bonds will be used to finance capital expenditure and/or refinance existing obligations, the proceeds of which were utilized for service improvements and expansion.

PLDT’s inaugural bonds were rated by Credit Rating and Investors Service Philippines, Inc., or CRISP, as “AAA” with a stable outlook, the highest on the scale.

Automated Fare Collection System Project Awarded to Ayala-First Pacific Consortium, or AF Consortium

In 2013, Smart, along with other companies of conglomerates Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, or MPIC, and Ayala Corporation, or Ayala, bid for the Automated Fare Collection System, or AFCS, project of the Department of Transportation and Communication, or DOTC, and Light Rail Transit Authority. The project aims to upgrade the Light Rail Transit 1 and 2, and Metro Rail Transit ticketing systems by substantially speeding up payments, reducing queuing time and facilitating efficient passenger transfer to other rail lines. The AF Consortium led by MPIC and Ayala, composed of AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation, BPI Card Finance Corporation, and Globe Telecom, Inc., for the Ayala Group, and MPIC, Meralco Financial Services Corporation, and Smart for the MPIC Group bidded for the AFCS Project and on January 30, 2014, received a Notice of Award from the DOTC declaring it as the winning bidder. The AF Consortium will form a corporation with Smart taking 20% ownership.

Business Overview

As at December 31, 2013, our chief operating decision maker, or our Management Committee, views our business activities in three business units: Wireless, Fixed Line and Others. On December 4, 2012, our Board of Directors authorized the sale of our BPO segment, which was completed in April 2013. Consequently, as at December 31, 2012, the BPO segment was classified as discontinued operations and a disposal group held-for-sale. The BPO segment met the criteria of an asset to be classified as held-for-sale as at December 31, 2012. The results of operations of our BPO business for the four months ended April 30, 2013 and the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 were presented as discontinued operations. See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Discontinued Operations and Note 3 – Management’s Use of Accounting Judgments, Estimates and Assumptions – Discontinued Operations to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion.

Wireless

We provide (1) cellular and (2) wireless broadband, satellite and other services through our wireless business, which contributed about 91% and 9% of our wireless service revenues, respectively, in 2013. In previous years, rapid growth in the cellular market resulted in a change in our revenue composition, with cellular service becoming our largest revenue source, surpassing our fixed line revenues. Cellular data services, which include all text messaging and text-related services ranging from ordinary SMS to VAS, contributed significantly to our revenue increase. Our total wireless revenues was 65% of our total revenues in 2013 and 66% and 61% for the years 2012 and 2011, respectively. Our cellular service revenues were 89% of our total wireless revenues, which include service and non-service revenues in each of 2013 and 2012, and 90% in 2011.

Our cellular service, which accounted for about 91% of our wireless service revenues for the year ended December 31, 2013, is provided through Smart and DMPI with 70,045,627 total subscribers as at December 31, 2013 representing a combined market share of approximately 64%. In 2013, the combined number of subscribers of Smart and Sun Cellular subscribers increased by 179,169, to 70,045,627. The growth was mainly due to a combination of organic subscriber growth and multiple SIM card ownership. Cellular penetration in the Philippines reached approximately 108% as at December 31, 2013, or approximately 36 times the country’s fixed line penetration, although the existence of subscribers owning multiple SIM cards overstates this penetration rate to a certain extent.

Approximately 97% and 90% of Smart and Sun Cellular subscribers, respectively, as at December 31, 2013 were prepaid service subscribers and subscriber gains in 2013 were predominantly attributable to their respective prepaid services. The predominance of prepaid service reflects one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Philippine cellular market, allowing us to increase and broaden our subscriber base without handset subsidies and reducing billing and administrative costs on a per-subscriber basis, as well as to control credit risk.

Text messaging continues to be popular in the Philippines, particularly on the prepaid platform, as it provides a convenient and inexpensive alternative to voice and e-mail based communications. Cellular data service revenues increased by Php843 million, or 2%, to Php52,258 million in 2013 from Php51,415 million in 2012.

Smart’s cellular network is the most extensive in the Philippines, covering substantially all of Metropolitan Manila and most of the other major population centers in the Philippines. Its dual-band GSM network allows it to efficiently deploy high capacity 1800 MHz BTS in dense urban areas while its 900 MHz BTS can be much more economically deployed in potentially high growth, but less densely populated provincial areas. We have rolled out a 3G network based on a W-CDMA technology and are currently upgrading our wireless broadband facilities. With 20,770 cellular/mobile broadband base stations as at December 31, 2013, our cellular network covers approximately 99% of all towns and municipalities in the Philippines.

DMPI transformed its transmission backbone network from a linear architecture to a ring topology, which allows for greater redundancy to ensure service reliability and quality. Additionally, DMPI developed an advanced 3G network that is currently operational in various provinces nationwide. We believe DMPI has developed an

 

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advanced network infrastructure that is highly efficient and can be easily scaled to accommodate increased subscriber base for its 2G and 3G business and increased network traffic from “unlimited” plans offered to subscribers of Sun Cellular. Smart and DMPI have defined a synergy plan whereby certain cell sites will be co-located. When the plan is fully implemented, it is expected that this will generate savings in terms of capex optimization, cost efficiencies and reductions in cost duplications.

Fixed Line

We are the leading provider of fixed line telecommunications services throughout the country, servicing retail, corporate and small medium enterprise, or SME, clients. Our fixed line business group offers local exchange, international long distance, national long distance, data and other network and miscellaneous services. We had 2,069,419 fixed line subscribers as at December 31, 2013, an increase of 5,625 from the 2,063,794 fixed line subscribers as at December 31, 2012 mainly due to higher net additions in 2013 compared with 2012. Total revenues from our fixed line was 35% of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2013, and 34% in each of the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011. National long distance revenues have been declining largely due to a drop in call volumes as a result of continued popularity of alternative means of communications such as texting, e-mailing and internet telephony. An increase in our data and other network service revenues in recent years have mitigated such decline to a certain extent. Recognizing the growth potential of data and other network services, we have put considerable emphasis on the development of new data-capable and IP-based networks.

Our 11,200-kilometer long DFON is complemented by an extensive digital microwave backbone network operated by Smart. This microwave networks complements the higher capacity fiber optic networks and are vital in delivering reliable services to areas not covered by fixed terrestrial transport network. Our fixed line network reaches all of the major cities and municipalities in the Philippines, with a concentration in the Metropolitan Manila area. Our network offers the country’s most extensive connections to international networks through two international gateway switching exchanges and various regional submarine cable systems in which we have economic interests.

See Item 4. “Information on the Company – Infrastructure – Fixed Line Network Infrastructure” for further information on our fixed line infrastructure.

Others

Other business consists primarily of PCEV, an investment holding company which has a 24.98%-interest in Meralco shares through its 50% equity interest in Beacon’s outstanding common stock and preferred stock, and PGIH, which owns an 18.24% economic interest in Beta, an investment holding company of SPi Technologies and its subsidiaries, where we reinvested approximately US$40 million of the proceeds from the sale of BPO in 2013.

Other business also includes PLDT’s investments in multi-media content, including in Cignal TV, Satventures and Hastings, through its ePLDT’s investments in PDRs issued by MediaQuest. See Item 4. “Information on the Company – Development Activities (2011-2013) – Investment in PDRs of MediaQuest” for further discussion.

Capital Expenditures and Divestitures

See Item 5. “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects – Liquidity and Capital Resources” for information concerning our principal capital expenditures for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and those planned for 2014. See Item 4. “ – Development Activities (2011-2013) – Divestment of CURE” for the discussion of our recent divestitures.

Organization

Our consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of PLDT and the following subsidiaries (collectively, the “PLDT Group”) as at December 31, 2013 and 2012:

 

 

               Percentage of Ownership  
               December 31,  
     Place of         2013      2012  

Name of Subsidiary

   Incorporation   

Principal Business Activity

   Direct      Indirect      Direct      Indirect  

Wireless

                 

Smart:

   Philippines   

Cellular mobile services

     100.0         —           100.0         —     

Smart Broadband, Inc., or SBI, and Subsidiary

   Philippines   

Internet broadband distribution services

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Primeworld Digital Systems, Inc., or PDSI

   Philippines   

Internet broadband distribution services

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

I-Contacts Corporation

   Philippines   

Call center services

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Wolfpac Mobile, Inc.

   Philippines   

Mobile applications development and services

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Wireless Card, Inc.

   Philippines   

Promotion of the sale and/or patronage of debit and/or charge cards

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Smart e-Money, Inc., or SeMI, (formerly Smarthub, Inc.)(a)

   Philippines   

Software development and sale of maintenance and support services

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Smart Money Holdings Corporation, or SMHC:

   Cayman Islands   

Investment company

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Smart Money, Inc., or SMI

   Cayman Islands   

Mobile commerce solutions marketing

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Far East Capital Limited, or FECL, and Subsidiary, or FECL Group

   Cayman Islands   

Cost effective offshore financing and risk management activities for Smart

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

PH Communications Holdings Corporation

   Philippines   

Investment company

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Francom Holdings, Inc.:

   Philippines   

Investment company

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprise, or CURE

   Philippines   

Cellular mobile services

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Chikka Holdings Limited, or Chikka, and Subsidiaries, or Chikka Group

   British Virgin Islands   

Content provider, mobile applications development and services

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Chikka Communications Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., or CCCBL

   China   

Mobile applications development and services

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Chikka Pte. Ltd., or CPL

   Singapore   

Managing patent and trademark portfolio

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Smarthub Pte. Ltd., or SHPL:

   Singapore   

Investment company

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Takatack Pte. Ltd., or TPL, (formerly SmartConnect Global Pte. Ltd.)(b)

   Singapore   

International trade of satellites and Global System for Mobile Communication, or GSM, enabled global telecommunications

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

 

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3rd Brand Pte. Ltd., or 3rd Brand

   Singapore   

Solutions and systems integration services

     —           85.0         —           85.0   

Voyager Innovations, Inc., or Voyager(c)

   Philippines   

Mobile applications development and services

     —           100.0         —           —     

Telesat, Inc.(d)

   Philippines   

Satellite communications services

     100.0         —           100.0         —     

ACeS Philippines Cellular Satellite Corporation, or ACeS Philippines

   Philippines   

Satellite information and messaging services

     88.5         11.5         88.5         11.5   

Mabuhay Investments Corporation, or MIC, (formerly Mabuhay Satellite Corporation)(e)

   Philippines   

Investment company

     67.0         —           67.0         —     

Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., or DMPI, (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digitel)

   Philippines   

Cellular mobile services

     —           99.6         —           99.5   

Fixed Line

                 

PLDT Clark Telecom, Inc., or ClarkTel

   Philippines   

Telecommunications services

     100.0         —           100.0         —     

PLDT Subic Telecom, Inc., or SubicTel

   Philippines   

Telecommunications services

     100.0         —           100.0         —     

PLDT Global Corporation, or PLDT Global, and Subsidiaries

   British Virgin Islands   

Telecommunications services

     100.0         —           100.0         —     

Smart-NTT Multimedia, Inc.(d)

   Philippines   

Data and network services

     100.0         —           100.0         —     

PLDT-Philcom, Inc., or Philcom, and Subsidiaries, or Philcom Group

   Philippines   

Telecommunications services

     100.0         —           100.0         —     

ePLDT, Inc., or ePLDT(f):

   Philippines   

Information and communications infrastructure for internet-based services, e-commerce, customer relationship management and information technology, or IT, related services

     100.0         —           100.0         —     

IP Converge Data Services, Inc., or IPCDSI(g)

   Philippines   

Information and communications infrastructure for internet-based services, e-commerce, customer relationship management and IT related services

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

iPlus Intelligent Network, Inc., or iPlus(h)

   Philippines   

Managed IT outsourcing

     —           100.0         —           100.0   

Curo Teknika, Inc., or Curo(h)

   Philippines   

Managed IT outsourcing

     —           100.0         —           —     

ABM Global Solutions, Inc., or AGS, and Subsidiaries, or AGS Group(i)

   Philippines   

Internet-based purchasing, IT consulting and professional services

     —           99.2         —           97.1   

ePDS, Inc., or ePDS

   Philippines   

Bills printing and other related value-added services, or VAS

     —           67.0         —           67.0   

netGames, Inc., or netGames(j)

   Philippines   

Gaming support services

     —           57.5         —           57.5   

Digitel

   Philippines   

Telecommunications services

     99.6         —           99.5         —     

Digitel Capital Philippines Ltd., or DCPL(k)

   British Virgin Islands   

Telecommunications services

     —           99.6         —           99.5   

Digitel Information Technology Services, Inc.(l)

   Philippines   

Internet services

     —           99.6         —           99.5   

PLDT-Maratel, Inc., or Maratel

   Philippines   

Telecommunications services

     98.0         —           97.8         —     

Bonifacio Communications Corporation, or BCC

   Philippines   

Telecommunications, infrastructure and related VAS

     75.0         —           75.0         —     

Pilipinas Global Network Limited, or PGNL, and Subsidiaries

   British Virgin Islands   

International distributor of Filipino channels and content

     60.0         —           60.0         —     

Others

                 

PLDT Global Investments Holdings, Inc., or PGIH, (formerly SPi Global Holdings, Inc.)(m)(n):

   Philippines   

Investment company

     100.0         —           100.0         —     

PLDT Global Investments Corporation, or PGIC

   British Virgin Islands   

Investment company

     —           100.0         —           —     

PLDT Communications and Energy Ventures, Inc., or PCEV

   Philippines   

Investment company

     —           99.8         —           99.8   

 

(a) 

On July 12, 2013, the Philippine SEC approved the change in the business name of Smarthub, Inc. to Smart e-Money, Inc.

(b) 

On September 29, 2013, by a special resolution of the Board of Directors of SmartConnect Global Pte. Ltd., resolved to change its registered business name to Takatack Pte. Ltd.

(c) 

On January 7, 2013, Voyager was registered with the Philippine SEC to provide mobile applications development and services.

(d) 

Ceased commercial operations.

(e) 

Ceased commercial operations; however, on January 13, 2012, the Philippine SEC approved the amendment of MIC’s Articles of Incorporation changing its name from Mabuhay Satellite Corporation to Mabuhay Investments Corporation and its primary purpose from satellite communication to holding company.

(f) 

On June 11, 2012, MySecureSign, Inc., or MSSI, and ePLDT were merged, wherein ePLDT became the surviving company.

(g) 

On October 12, 2012, ePLDT acquired 100% equity interest in IPCDSI.

(h) 

On October 30, 2013, Curo was incorporated to take-on the Outsourced IT Services as a result of the spin-off of iPlus.

(i) 

In December 2012 and January 2013, ePLDT acquired an additional 5.7% equity interest in AGS from its minority shareholders, thereby increasing ePLDT’s ownership in AGS from 93.5% to 99.2%.

(j) 

Ceased commercial operations in January 2013.

(k) 

Liquidated in January 2013.

(l) 

Corporate life shortened until June 2013.

(m) 

On December 4, 2012, our Board of Directors authorized the sale of our Business Process Outsourcing, or BPO, segment, which was wholly-owned by PGIH. The sale was completed in April 2013. Consequently, as at December 31, 2013, the BPO segment was classified as discontinued operations and a disposal group held-for-sale. See Note 2 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Discontinued Operations and Note 3 – Management’s Use of Accounting Judgments, Estimates and Assumptions – Assets Classified as Held-for-Sale and Discontinued Operations.

(n) 

On June 3, 2013, the Philippine SEC approved the change in the business name of SPi Global Holdings, Inc. to PLDT Global Investments Holdings, Inc.

Development Activities (2011-2013)

Investment in PDRs of MediaQuest

In 2012, ePLDT made deposits totaling Php6 billion to MediaQuest, an entity wholly-owned by the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund, for the issuance of PDRs by MediaQuest in relation to its indirect interest in Cignal TV, Inc., or Cignal TV. Cignal TV is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Satventures, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MediaQuest. The Cignal TV PDRs confer an economic interest in common shares of Cignal TV indirectly owned by MediaQuest, and when issued, will provide ePLDT with a 40% economic interest in Cignal TV. Cignal TV operates a direct-to-home, or DTH, Pay-TV business under the brand name “Cignal TV”, which is the largest DTH Pay-TV operator in the Philippines with 602 thousand net subscribers as at December 31, 2013.

On March 5, 2013, PLDT’s Board of Directors approved two further investments in additional PDRs of MediaQuest:

 

   

a Php3.6 billion investment by ePLDT in PDRs to be issued by MediaQuest in relation to its interest in Satventures. The Satventures PDRs confer an economic interest in common shares of Satventures owned by MediaQuest, and when issued, will provide ePLDT with a 40% economic interest in Satventures; and

 

   

a Php1.95 billion investment by ePLDT in PDRs to be issued by MediaQuest in relation to its interest in Hastings Holdings, Inc., or Hastings. The Hastings PDRs confer an economic interest in common shares of Hastings owned by MediaQuest, and when issued, will provide ePLDT with a 100% economic interest in Hastings. Hastings is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MediaQuest and holds all the print-related investments of MediaQuest, including equity positions in three leading newspapers: The Philippine Star, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Business World. See Note 25 – Employee Benefits – Unlisted Equity Investments – Investment in MediaQuest to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further details.

 

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The Php6 billion Cignal TV PDRs and Php3.6 billion Satventures PDRs were issued on September 27, 2013. These PDRs provided ePLDT an aggregate of 64% economic interest in Cignal TV.

ePLDT’s deposit for future PDRs subscription amounted to Php1.95 billion for Hastings PDRs as at December 31, 2013 and Php6 billion for Cignal TV PDRs as at December 31, 2012.

On March 4, 2014, PLDT’s Board of Directors approved an additional investment of up to Php500 million in Hastings PDRs to be issued by MediaQuest, which will increase ePLDT’s investment in Hastings PDRs from Php1.95 billion up to Php2.45 billion representing a 60% economic interest in Hastings. A new investor is expected to subscribe for a 40% economic interest in Hastings either directly through Hastings or PDRs to be issued by MediaQuest in relation to its interest in Hastings.

As at the date of issuance of this report, the Hastings PDRs have not yet been issued.

The PLDT Group’s financial investment in PDRs of MediaQuest is part of the PLDT Group’s overall strategy of broadening its distribution platforms and increasing the Group’s ability to deliver multi-media content to its customers across the Group’s broadband and mobile networks.

See Note 10 – Investments in Associates, Joint Ventures and Deposits – Investment in MediaQuest to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion.

Sale of BPO Segment

On February 5, 2013, PLDT entered into an agreement to sell the BPO business owned by its wholly-owned subsidiary, PGIH to Asia Outsourcing Gamma Limited, or AOGL, a company controlled by CVC Capital Partners, or CVC. The sale of the BPO business was completed on April 30, 2013. PLDT reinvested approximately US$40 million of the proceeds from the sale in our acquisition of shares of Beta, resulting in an approximately 18.24% economic interest, and will continue to participate in the growth of the business as a partner of CVC. Pursuant to the sale, PLDT is subject to certain obligations, including: (1) an obligation, for a period of five years, not to carry on or be engaged or concerned or interested in or assist any business which competes with the business process outsourcing business as carried on at the relevant time or at any time in the 12 months prior to such time in any territory in which business is carried on (excluding activities in the ordinary course of PLDT’s business); and (2) an obligation, for a period of five years, to provide certain transitional services on a most-favored-nation basis (i.e., no less favorable material terms (including pricing) than those offered by PLDT or any of its controlled affiliates to any other customer in relation to services substantially similar to those provided or to be provided to AOGL and/or its designated companies). In addition, PLDT may be liable for certain damages actually suffered by AOGL until the time of sale arising out of, among others, breach of representation, tax matters and noncompliance with Indian employment laws by SPi Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., a joint subsidiary of SPi and SPi India Holdings (Mauritius), Inc. for the transactions that transpired up to the time of sale. See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Discontinued Operations and Note 3 – Management’s Use of Accounting Judgments, Estimates and Assumptions – Assets Classified as Held-for-Sale and Discontinued Operations to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion of the classification of the BPO segment as an asset held-for-sale.

PCEV’s Transfer of Meralco Shares to Beacon

On October 25, 2011, PCEV transferred to Beacon its remaining investment in 68.8 million of Meralco’s common shares for a total cash consideration of Php15,136 million. PCEV also subscribed to 1,199 million Beacon preferred shares of the same value. The transfer of the Meralco shares was implemented by a cross sale through the PSE.

Since the transactions involve entities with common shareholders, PCEV recognized a deferred gain on transfer of the Meralco shares amounting to Php8,145 million, equivalent to the difference between the Php15,136 million transfer price of the Meralco shares and the Php6,991 million carrying amount in PCEV’s books of the Meralco shares transferred. The deferred gain was presented as an adjustment to the investment cost of the Beacon preferred shares in 2011. Similar to the deferred gain on the transfer of the 154.2 million Meralco shares, the deferred gain will only be realized upon the disposal of the Meralco shares to a third party.

The carrying value of PCEV’s investment in Beacon, representing 50% of Beacon’s common shares outstanding, was Php29,625 million and Php20,801 million as at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

PCEV’s Additional Investment in Beacon

On January 20, 2012, PCEV subscribed to 135 million Beacon common shares for a total cash consideration of Php2,700 million. On the same date, MPIC also subscribed to 135 million Beacon common shares for a total cash consideration of Php2,700 million.

 

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Sale of Beacon Preferred Shares to MPIC

On June 6, 2012, PCEV sold 282.2 million of its investment in Beacon preferred shares to MPIC for a total cash consideration of Php3,563 million which took effect on June 29, 2012. Because the Beacon preferred shares were sold to an entity not included in the PLDT Group, PCEV realized a portion of the deferred gain amounting to Php2,012 million. This amount was recorded when the underlying Meralco shares were transferred to Beacon. The carrying value of PCEV’s investment in Beacon’s preferred shares, amounting to Php5,440 million and Php6,991 million was presented as part of available-for-sale financial investments in our consolidated statements of financial position as at December 31, 2012 and January 1, 2012, respectively.

Change in View and Purpose of Investment in Beacon Preferred Shares

On October 30, 2013, PCEV’s Board of Directors approved the change in view and purpose of investment in Beacon preferred shares, from investment available-for-sale to strategic investment intended to generate safe and steady returns which PCEV intends to hold on to for the long-term, similar to its investment in common shares. As a result, the investment in Beacon preferred shares was reclassified from available-for-sale investments to investment in joint venture (both are noncurrent assets). The carrying value of PCEV’s investment in Beacon preferred shares amounted to Php6,250 million as at December 31, 2013.

PLDT’s Acquisition of Digitel

On October 26, 2011, we completed the acquisition of certain interests in Digitel, including (i) 3.28 billion common shares representing 51.6% of the issued common stock of Digitel, (ii) zero-coupon bonds convertible into approximately 18.6 billion common shares of Digitel, and (iii) intercompany advances made by JGSHI to Digitel in the total principal amount plus accrued interest of Php34.1 billion as at December 31, 2010. Upon completion of the acquisition, we began consolidating the results of operation of Digitel in our financial statements.

Digitel operates a fixed line business in certain parts of the country and is the 100% owner of DMPI, which is engaged in the mobile telecommunications business and owns the brand Sun Cellular. We have agreed with the NTC that we will continue to operate Sun Cellular as a separate brand. The primary effect of the acquisition of Digitel on our operating segments was the addition of DMPI to our wireless business and the addition of Digitel to our fixed line business.

As a consequence of completion of a mandatory tender offer and related share exchanges, open market acquisitions, and conversions of certain of our zero coupon bonds, we held 99.6% of the outstanding capital of Digitel as of December 31, 2013.

Divestment of CURE

On October 26, 2011, PLDT received the order issued by the NTC approving the application jointly filed by PLDT and Digitel for the sale and transfer of approximately 51.6% of the outstanding common stock of Digitel to PLDT. The approval of the application was subject to conditions which included the divestment by PLDT of CURE, in accordance with the divestment plan, as follows:

 

   

CURE must sell its Red Mobile business to Smart consisting primarily of its subscriber base, brand and fixed assets; and

 

   

Smart will sell all of its rights and interests in CURE whose remaining assets will consist of its congressional franchise, 10 MHz of 3G frequency in the 2100 band and related permits.

In compliance with the commitments in the divestment plan, CURE completed the sale and transfer of its Red Mobile business to Smart on June 30, 2012 for a total consideration of Php18 million through a series of transactions, which included: (a) the sale of CURE’s Red Mobile trademark to Smart; (b) the transfer of CURE’s existing Red Mobile subscriber base to Smart; and (c) the sale of CURE’s fixed assets to Smart at net book value.

In a letter dated July 26, 2012, Smart informed the NTC that it has complied with the terms and conditions of the divestment plan as CURE had rearranged its assets, such that, except for assets necessary to pay off obligations due after June 30, 2012 and certain tax assets, CURE’s only remaining assets as at June 30, 2012 were its congressional franchise, the 10 MHz of 3G frequency in the 2100 band and related permits.

In a letter dated September 10, 2012, Smart informed the NTC that the minimum CRA to enable the PLDT Group to recover its investment in CURE, includes, among others, the total cost of equity investments in CURE, advances from Smart for operating requirements, advances from stockholders and associated funding costs. Smart also informed the NTC that the divestment will be undertaken through an auction sale of CURE’s shares of stock to the winning bidder and submitted CURE’s audited financial statements as at June 30, 2012 to the NTC. In a letter dated January 21, 2013, the NTC referred the computation of the CRA to the commissioners of the NTC. Smart sent a reply agreeing to the proposal and is awaiting advice from the NTC on the bidding and auction of the 3G license of CURE.

As at December 31, 2013, CURE is still waiting for NTC’s advice on how to proceed with the planned divestment.

See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Divestment of CURE to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion.

PCEV’s Common Stock

On November 2, 2011, the Board of Directors of PCEV authorized PCEV’s management to take such steps necessary for the voluntary delisting of PCEV from the PSE in accordance with the PSE Rules on Voluntary Delisting. On December 2, 2011, PCEV’s Board of Directors also created a special committee to review and evaluate any

 

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tender offer to be made by Smart (as the owner of 99.51% of the outstanding common shares of PCEV) to purchase the shares owned by the remaining noncontrolling shareholders representing 0.49% of the outstanding common stock of PCEV. Smart’s tender offer commenced on March 19, 2012 and ended on April 18, 2012, with approximately 25.1 million shares, or 43.4% of PCEV’s noncontrolling shares tendered, thereby increasing Smart’s ownership to 99.7% of the outstanding common stock of PCEV at that time. The aggregate cost of the tender offer paid by Smart to noncontrolling shareholders on April 30, 2012 amounted to Php115 million. PCEV filed its petition with the PSE for voluntary delisting on March 19, 2012. On April 25, 2012, the PSE approved the petition for voluntary delisting and PCEV’s shares were delisted and ceased to be tradable on the PSE effective May 18, 2012.

Following the voluntary delisting of the common stock of PCEV from the PSE on May 18, 2012, PCEV’s Board of Directors and stockholders approved on June 6, 2012 and July 31, 2012, respectively, the following resolutions and amendments to the articles of incorporation of PCEV to decrease the authorized capital stock of PCEV, increase the par value of PCEV’s common stock (and thereby decrease the number of shares of such common stock) and decrease the number of shares of preferred stock of PCEV as follows:

 

     Prior to Amendments      After Amendments  
     Authorized Capital      Number of
Shares
     Par Value      Authorized Capital      Number of
Shares
     Par Value  

Common Stock

   Php 12,060,000,000         12,060,000,000       Php 1       Php 12,060,006,000         574,286       Php 21,000   

Class I Preferred Stock

     240,000,000         120,000,000         2         66,661,000         33,330,500         2   

Class II Preferred Stock

     500,000,000         500,000,000         1         50,000,000         50,000,000         1   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Authorized Capital Stock

   Php 12,800,000,000             Php 12,176,667,000         
  

 

 

          

 

 

       

The decrease in authorized capital and amendments to the articles of incorporation were approved by the Philippine SEC on October 8, 2012. As a result of the increase in the par value of PCEV common stock, each multiple of 21,000 shares of PCEV common stock, par value Php1, was reduced to one PCEV share of common stock, with a par value of Php21,000. Shareholdings of less than 21,000 shares or in excess of an integral multiple of 21,000 shares of PCEV which could not be replaced with fractional shares were paid the fair value of such residual shares equivalent to Php4.50 per share of pre-amendments PCEV common stock, the same amount as the tender offer price paid by Smart during the last tender offer conducted from March 19 to April 18, 2012.

As a consequence of the foregoing, the number of outstanding shares of PCEV common stock decreased to approximately 555,716 from 11,683,156,455 (exclusive of treasury shares). The number of holders of PCEV common stock decreased to 121 as at December 31, 2013 and because the number of shareholders still exceeds 100 shareholders under the rules of the Philippine SEC, PCEV is still required to make filings of updates with the Philippine SEC. Smart’s percentage of ownership in PCEV stood at 99.8% as at December 31, 2013.

PLDT’s Acquisition of Subscription Assets of Digitel

On July 1, 2013, PLDT entered into an agreement to acquire the subscription assets of Digitel for a total cost of approximately Php5.3 billion. The agreement covers the transfer, assignment and conveyance of Digitel’s subscription agreements and subscriber list, and includes a transition mechanism to ensure uninterrupted availability of services to the Digitel subscribers until migration to the PLDT network is completed.

ePLDT’s Acquisition of Shares of AGS’ Minority Stockholders

In December 2012 and January 2013, ePLDT acquired an additional 5.67% equity interest in AGS from its minority shareholders for a total consideration of Php5 million, thereby increasing ePLDT’s ownership in AGS from 93.5% to 99.2%.

See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Note 13 – Business Combinations to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion regarding these and other acquisitions.

Strengths

We believe our business is characterized by the following competitive strengths:

 

   

Recognized Brands. PLDT, Smart, Talk ‘N Text and Sun Cellular are strong and widely recognized brand names in the Philippines. We have built the PLDT brand name for 85 years as the leading telecommunications provider in the Philippines. Smart is recognized in the Philippines as an innovative provider of high-quality cellular services. The Talk ‘N Text brand, which is provided using Smart’s network, has also gained significant recognition as a price-competitive brand. Our brand range was further strengthened with the acquisition of DMPI and its cellular brand, Sun Cellular. Since its launch in 2003, Sun Cellular has built considerable brand equity as a provider of “unlimited” services. Having a range of strong and recognizable brands allows us to offer to various market segments differentiated products and services that suit customers’ budgets and usage preferences.

 

   

Leading Market Shares. With over 75 million fixed lines, cellular and broadband subscribers as at December 31, 2013, we have leading market positions in each of the fixed line, cellular and broadband markets in the Philippines in terms of both subscribers and revenues.

 

   

Diversified Revenue Sources. We derive our revenues from our three business segments, namely, wireless, fixed line and other businesses, with wireless and fixed line contributing 65% and 35%, respectively, to our total revenues in 2013, and 66% and 34% from our wireless and fixed line, respectively, in 2012. Revenue sources of our wireless business include cellular services, which include voice services and text message-related and VAS, and wireless broadband services. Revenues from cellular voice and text services have been declining but are somewhat mitigated by the increase in revenues from wireless broadband and mobile internet browsing. Our fixed line business derives service revenues from local

 

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exchange, international long distance, national long distance and data and other network services. Revenues from local exchange, national and international long distance, have been declining over the past years due to pressures on traditional fixed line voice revenues and reductions in international interconnection rates, offset by the significant revenue contribution from corporate, SME and consumer data.

 

   

Superior Integrated Network. With the most advanced and extensive telecommunications networks in the Philippines, we are able to offer a wide array of communications services. We have completed a two-year network transformation program that further enhanced the capabilities of our fixed line and wireless networks, allowing us to better leverage this competitive strength to maintain market leadership while achieving higher levels of network efficiency in providing voice and data services. Part of our network transformation program included the continued upgrade of our fixed line network to an all IP-based NGN, the build out of our transmission network to 54,000 kilometers of fiber, the investment in increased international bandwidth capacity, and the expansion of our 3G and wireless broadband networks in order to enhance our data/broadband capabilities. Our network investments include the upgrade of our IT capabilities, including our Operating Support Systems, Business Support Systems and Intelligent Networks, all of which are essential in enabling us to offer more relevant services to our customers.

 

   

Innovative Products and Services. We have successfully introduced a number of innovative and award-winning cellular products and services, including Smart Money, Smart Load and Pasa Load. Smart Load is an “over-the-air” electronic loading facility designed to make reloading of air time credits more convenient for, and accessible to consumers. Pasa Load (the term “pasa” means “transfer”) is a derivative service of Smart Load that allows load transfers to other Smart Prepaid and Talk ‘N Text subscribers.

 

   

Strong Strategic Relationships. We have important strategic relationships with First Pacific, NTT DOCOMO and NTT Communications. We believe the technological support, international experience and management expertise made available to us through these strategic relationships will enable us to enhance our market leadership and ability to provide and cross-sell a more complete range of products and services.

Strategy

The key elements of our business strategy are:

 

   

Build on our leading positions in the fixed line and wireless businesses. We plan to continue building on our position as the leading fixed line and wireless service provider in the Philippines by continuing to launch new products and services to increase subscriber value and utilization of our existing facilities and equipment at reduced cost, and to increase our subscribers’ use of our network for both voice and data, as well as their reliance on our services.

 

   

Capitalize on our strength as an integrated provider of telecommunications services. We offer the broadest range of telecommunications services among all operators in the Philippines. We plan to capitalize on this position to maximize revenue opportunities by bundling and cross-selling our products and services, and by developing convergent products that feature the combined benefits of voice and data, fixed line, wireless, and other products and services, including media content, utilizing our network and business platforms.

 

   

Strengthen our leading position in the data and broadband market. Leveraging on the inherent strengths of our fixed line and wireless businesses, we are committed to further develop our fastest growing business– broadband, data and other network services. Consistent with our strategy of introducing innovative products and services using advanced technology, we continue to launch various products and services in the data and broadband market that deliver quality of experience according to different market needs, including data centers and cloud-related services.

 

   

Maintain a strong financial position and improve shareholder returns. Following significant improvements in our financial position, we restored the payment of cash dividends to our common shareholders beginning in 2005 and were able to declare dividend payouts of approximately 100% of our core earnings for the seven consecutive years from 2007 to 2013. We plan to continue utilizing our free cash flows for the payment of cash dividends to common shareholders and investments in new growth areas. As part of our growth strategy, we have made and may continue to make acquisitions and investments in companies or businesses. We will continue to consider value-accretive investments in telecommunications as well as telco-related businesses such as those in media and content.

 

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Business

Wireless

We provide cellular, wireless broadband, satellite and other services through our wireless business.

Cellular Service

Overview

Our cellular business, which we provide through Smart and DMPI to over 70 million subscribers as at December 31, 2013, approximately 97% of whom are prepaid subscribers, focuses on providing wireless voice communications and wireless data communications (primarily through text messaging, but also through a variety of VAS and mobile broadband). As a condition of our acquisition of a controlling interest in Digitel, we have agreed with the NTC that we will divest the congressional franchise, spectrum and related permits held by CURE following the migration of CURE’s Red Mobile subscriber base to Smart. See “Item 4. Information on the Company – Development Activities (2011-2013) – Divestment of CURE” and Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Divestment of CURE to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion.

The following table summarizes key measures of our cellular business as at and for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:

 

     December 31,  
     2013     2012     2011(1)  

Systemwide cellular subscriber base

     70,045,627        69,866,458        63,696,629   

Prepaid

     67,667,750        67,611,537        61,792,792   

Smart Prepaid

     24,608,687        25,061,453        28,011,521   

Talk ‘N Text

     29,485,017        28,445,053        20,467,175   

Sun Cellular

     13,574,046        14,105,031        13,314,096   

Postpaid

     2,377,877        2,254,921        1,903,837   

Smart

     889,696        683,480        550,748   

Sun Cellular

     1,488,181        1,571,441        1,353,089   

Growth rate of cellular subscribers

      

Prepaid

      

Smart Prepaid

     (2 %)      (11 %)      7

Talk ‘N Text

     4     39     8

Sun Cellular

     (4 %)      6     100

Postpaid

      

Smart

     30     18     31

Sun Cellular

     (5 %)      16     100

Cellular revenues (in millions)

   Php 105,875      Php 103,604      Php 93,645   

Voice

     51,384        49,627        43,884   

Data

     52,258        51,415        47,235   

Others

     2,233        2,562        2,526   

Percentage of cellular revenues to total wireless service revenues

     91     91     92

Percentage of cellular revenues to total service revenues

     59     60     55

 

(1) 

Includes DMPI’s cellular service revenues of Php2,808 million for the period from October 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

Smart markets nationwide cellular communications services under the brand names Smart Prepaid, Talk ‘N Text, Smart Postpaid and Smart Infinity. Smart Prepaid and Talk ‘N Text are prepaid services while Smart Postpaid and Smart Infinity are postpaid services, which are all provided through Smart’s digital network. With the acquisition of a majority interest in the Digitel Group on October 26, 2011, we offer prepaid and postpaid services under the brand name Sun Cellular.

Smart, together with Talk ‘N Text and Sun Cellular, have focused on segmenting the market by offering sector-specific, value-driven packages for its subscribers. These include load buckets which provide a fixed number of messages with prescribed validity periods and call packages which allow a fixed number of calls of preset duration. Starting out as within network packages, Smart’s buckets now also offer voice, text and hybrid bundles available to all networks. Smart also provides packages with unlimited voice, text, data, and combinations thereof, denominations of which depend on the duration and nature of the unlimited packages.

Among the many popular bucket variants of Smart prepaid is the Unli Call and Text 25 where subscribers can enjoy unlimited calls to Smart and Talk ‘N Text, unlimited texts to Smart, Talk ‘N Text and Sun Cellular, plus free 50 all network texts with 15MB of mobile internet data valid for one day. In addition, for as low as Php10, Smart prepaid subscribers can get 75 all network texts, plus 5MB of mobile internet data which is valid for one day.

Sun Cellular offers its Call and Text Unlimited products, which allow subscribers to enjoy 24 hours of Sun-to-Sun voice calls and all network texts for as low as Php25 per day. Sun Cellular’s Text Unlimited products offer unlimited Sun-to-Sun SMS with free voice calls plus mobile internet for as low as Php10 per day. Sun Cellular also offers Call and Text combo which allows subscribers to send 50 Sun-to-Sun SMS and 50 SMS to other networks along with 10 minutes Sun-to-Sun voice calls and 10 minutes mobile internet for only Php10, valid for one day.

Sun Cellular also offers Sun Trio Loads, which comes with 200 SMS to Sun, Smart and Talk ‘N Text, 10 minutes Sun-to-Sun calls, 3 minutes of calls to Sun Cellular, Smart and Talk ‘N Text bundled with 30 minutes of mobile internet for only Php20, valid for one day. Moreover, Sun Cellular launched Sun BlackBerry All-Day unlimited services which comes with unlimited mobile internet, unlimited social networking, unlimited instant messaging, unlimited BlackBerry browsing and unlimited BlackBerry Messenger for only Php50 per day.

 

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Postpaid subscribers have similar options depending on their monthly subscription plans. Smart offers Smart All-in Plans, which enable subscribers to choose from Smart’s different services, such as unlimited call, text, or mobile browsing, all charged within the subscriber’s monthly service fee.

Smart also offers the Smart Unli Postpaid Plan 599 which offers unlimited calls to Smart subscribers and unlimited texts to Smart, Talk ‘N Text and Sun Cellular subscribers.

Smart’s Unli Data Plans offer unlimited internet browsing on postpaid basis, best suited for subscribers with high data usage. Bundled with the latest handsets, and with free texts and calls, subscribers may choose among the following packages: Plan1500, Plan2000 and Plan3000.

Sun Cellular postpaid plans offer a variety of services to cater to the emerging needs of the subscribers at affordable prices. Sun Cellular offers Sundroid Rush Plans starting from Php450 per month that comes with a free Android handset and tablet where subscribers can enjoy unlimited Sun Calls and Texts, 250 free texts to other networks and 20 hours for mobile internet. Sun Cellular also offers IDD plans which allows subscribers to make international calls and send SMS to selected countries for as low as Php2 per minute of voice call or per SMS. The IDD Plans also come with a free Android handset along with free calls and SMS, depending on the plan.

Voice Services

Cellular voice services comprise all voice traffic and voice VAS such as voice mail and international roaming. Voice services remain a significant contributor to wireless revenues, generating a total of Php51,384 million, Php49,627 million and Php43,884 million, or 49%, 48% and 47% of cellular service revenues in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Local calls continue to dominate outbound traffic constituting 91% of all our cellular minutes. Domestic inbound and outbound calls totaled 51,504 million minutes in 2013, an increase of 1,907 million minutes, or 4%, as compared with 49,597 million minutes in 2012, due to increased traffic on bucket and unlimited calls. International inbound and outbound calls totaled 3,590 million minutes in 2013, an increase of 162 million minutes, or 5%, as compared with 3,428 million minutes in 2012. The ratio of inbound-to-outbound international long distance minutes was 8.6:1 for 2013.

Data Services

Cellular revenues from data services include all text messaging-related services and mobile internet, as well as, VAS.

The Philippine cellular market is one of the most text messaging-intensive markets in the world, with more than a billion text messages sent per day. Text messaging is extremely popular in the Philippines, particularly on the prepaid platform, as it provides a convenient and inexpensive alternative to voice and e-mail based communications.

Cellular revenues from this service increased by Php843 million, or 2%, to Php52,258 million in 2013 from Php51,415 million in 2012 primarily due to higher mobile internet and VAS revenues, partially offset by lower text messaging revenues. In 2013, Smart’s and DMPI’s text messaging system handled 31,878 million outbound messages on standard SMS services and 471,298 million messages generated by bucket-priced text services.

Revenues from mobile internet includes web-based services such as mobile internet browsing and video streaming, net of allocated discounts and content provider costs.

Smart and DMPI offer the following VAS:

 

   

Pasa Load/Give-a-load includes revenues from Pasa Load and Dial*SOS, net of allocated discounts. Pasa Load/Give-a-load is a service which allows prepaid and postpaid subscribers to transfer small denominations of air time credits to other prepaid subscribers. Dial*SOS allows Smart prepaid subscribers to borrow Php4 of load (three Smart-to-Smart texts plus Php1 air time) from Smart which will be deducted upon their next top-up;

 

   

SMS-based includes revenues from info-on-demand and voice text services, net of allocated discounts and content provider costs; and

 

   

MMS-based includes revenues from point-to-point multimedia messaging system, or MMS, and content download services, such as ringtone, logo or music downloads, net of allocated discounts and content provider costs.

Due to the high level of text messaging service usage, we believe that the Philippine market is well suited for text-based informational and e-commerce services. There is a potential growth in mobile internet browsing as a result of the popularity of social networking and the affordability of smartphones. Our current approach is to continue maximizing our 3G network services while continuously upgrading our network to Long-Term Evolution, or LTE 4G, in anticipation of the growth in mobile internet browsing.

Chikka

Through Chikka, we provide an internet and GSM-based instant messaging facility for mobile users or subscribers. Services include instant text messaging from personal computer to mobile phones and vice versa, text newsletter, text-based promotions, multi-media messaging, subscription-based services, and other mobile VAS.

 

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Rates

Our current policy is to recognize a prepaid subscriber as “active” only when the subscriber activates and uses the SIM card and reloads it at least once during the month of initial activation or in the immediately succeeding month. A prepaid cellular subscriber is disconnected if the subscriber does not reload within four months after the full usage or expiry of the last reload.

Smart Prepaid and Talk ‘N Text Call and Text prepaid cards are sold in denominations of Php100, Php300 and Php500. The Php300 and Php500 cards include 33 and 83 free text messages, respectively. The stored value of a prepaid card remains valid for a period ranging from 30 days to 120 days depending on the denomination of the card, with larger denominations having longer validity periods from the time a subscriber activates the card. We launch from time to time promotions with shorter validity periods. The introduction of electronic loading facility, Smart Load, made reloading of air time credits more convenient and accessible for consumers. Smart Load’s over-the-air reloads have evolved to respond to market needs and now come in various denominations ranging from Php10 to Php1,000 with corresponding expiration periods. The introduction of Smart Load was followed by Pasa Load, a derivative service, allowing prepaid and postpaid subscribers to transfer even smaller denominations to other prepaid subscribers. Since 2005, Smart has offered fixed rate or “bucket” packages as a means of driving subscriber activations and stimulating usage. These bucket packages, which offer a fixed number of text messages or call minutes for a limited validity period, have proven to be popular with subscribers. Smart also offers unlimited voice and text packages under its various brands in order to be competitive and maintain industry leadership. Both bucket packages, and unlimited voice and text packages account for 32% of our cellular service revenues in 2013.

Smart Prepaid subscribers are charged Php6.50 per minute for calls to Smart Prepaid and Talk ‘N Text subscribers and Php7.50 per minute terminating to other cellular or fixed line networks. Talk ‘N Text calls to Talk ‘N Text subscribers are charged Php5.50 per minute while calls to Smart Prepaid and other cellular fixed line subscribers are charged Php6.50 per minute.

Sun Cellular has continued to offer its range of existing unlimited products and further introduced special product promotions. Sun Cellular introduced an enhanced version of its flagship Call and Text Unlimited product by launching the Sun Call and Text Unlimited product, offering unlimited calls to Sun and texts to all networks. For example, the Php100 denomination is valid for five days with unlimited one-network calls and all-network texts. There are also variants with longer validity periods and more free inclusions: Php150 provides Sun Call & Text Unlimited for 7 days with Php25 regular load, while Php450 is valid for 30 days and includes Php50 regular load. Recently, Sun Cellular launched Sun Power Text Unlimited 200 which gives subscribers 30 days of unlimited Sun texts, four hours of Sun-to-Sun calls and 1,000 texts to other networks.

Smart offers All In, Unli Voice and Text, and Unli Data postpaid plans with monthly service fees ranging from Php349 to Php3,000 for Smart Postpaid and from Php3,500 to Php8,000 for Smart Infinity plans. These plans are allocated with free calls, texts and data, and different rates in excess of allocation, depending on the monthly plan. Monthly service fee plans are applicable only to local calls, text messages and data browsing, including VAS.

Sun Cellular offers postpaid services that enable subscribers to place local and international calls and SMS, use mobile internet and utilize a wireless landline through postpaid plans with varying monthly service fees ranging from Php250 to Php3,500. Sun Cellular subscribers not availing of any Call and Text Unlimited service are charged Php5.50 per minute for calls to other Sun Cellular subscribers and Php6.50 to other networks. Local NDD calls are likewise charged at Php6.50 per minute.

Smart subscribers pay an international direct dialing rate of US$0.40 per minute. This rate applies to most destinations, including the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Smart charges US$0.98 per minute for 27 other destinations and US$2.18 per minute for another ten destinations. Smart subscribers also have the option of calling at more affordable rates, even for as low as Php2.50 per minute, through HELLOw reloadable IDD card, Smart’s budget IDD service.

Sun Cellular offers an IDD rate of US$0.30 per minute to Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Australia, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Spain and over 100 other countries. Subscribers can also opt to avail of any of Sun Cellular’s various promos, where international calling rates can reach as low as Php1.50 per minute.

Distribution and Discounts

We sell our cellular services primarily through a network of independent dealers and distributors that generally have their own retail networks, direct sales forces and sub-dealers. We currently have 28 exclusive regional and 125 exclusive provincial distributors, and 85 key account dealers, 15 of which are exclusive. These dealers include major distributors of cellular handsets and broadband modems whose main focus is telecommunications outlets. Account managers from our sales force manage the distribution network and regularly update these business partners on upcoming marketing strategies, promotional campaigns and new products. With the introduction of Smart Load, Smart moved into a new realm of distribution. These over-the-air reloads, which were based on the “sachet” marketing concept of consumer goods, such as shampoo and ketchup, required a distribution network that approximates those of fast-moving consumer goods companies. Starting with just 50,000 outlets when it was launched, Smart Load’s distribution network now encompasses approximately 1.0 million retailers, 80% of which are micro businesses (e.g., neighborhood stores, individual entrepreneurs and individual roving agents), and 20% are macro business (e.g., mall branches, supermarkets, drugstores, pawnshops and micro-financial institution outlets) established nationwide and internationally. These micro-retailers must be affiliated with one of Smart’s authorized dealers, distributors, sub-dealers or agents. With the prepaid reloading distribution network now extended to corner store and individual retailer levels and minimum reloading denominations as low as Php10, Smart’s prepaid service became more affordable and accessible to subscribers. Sun Cellular also offers over-the-air reloads through Sun’s Xpress Load.

For prepaid services, we grant discounts to dealers for prepaid phone kits, modems, call and text cards and over-the-air reloads sold. Smart compensates dealers with Php100 to Php800 in cash discounts per unit depending on the price of the prepaid phone kit sold whereas Sun Cellular’s cash discount of Php37 to Php450 varies based on the prepaid phone kit sold. Call and text cards and over-the-air reloads are sold at an average discount of approximately 8% and 13%, respectively for Smart, and 8% and 12%, respectively for Sun Cellular. Call and text cards cannot be returned or refunded and normally expire within 14 months after release from the Smart warehouse. The same policy is being applied by Sun Cellular.

 

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Wireless Broadband, Satellite and Other Services

Overview

We currently provide wireless broadband, satellite and other services through SBI, DMPI and PDSI, our wireless broadband service providers; Chikka Group, our wireless content operator; ACeS Philippines, our satellite operator; and MVNO services from PLDT Global.

The following table shows information of our wireless broadband revenues and subscriber base as at and for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:

 

     December 31,  
     2013     2012     2011  

Wireless Broadband Revenues

   Php 9,432      Php 8,606      Php 6,804   

Prepaid

     2,823        2,467        1,911   

Postpaid

     6,609        6,139        4,893   

Wireless Broadband Subscribers

     2,453,826        2,359,024        2,068,409   

Prepaid

     1,669,618        1,587,160        1,362,992   

Smart

     1,359,862        1,231,092        1,162,020   

Sun

     309,756        356,068        200,972   

Postpaid

     784,208        771,864        705,417   

Smart

     549,347        495,802        454,333   

Sun

     234,861        276,062        251,084   

Percentage of wireless broadband revenues to total wireless service revenues

     8     8     7

Percentage of wireless broadband revenues to total service revenues

     5     5     4

Smart Broadband

SBI offers SmartBro, a wireless broadband and data service being offered to residential consumers as well as small and medium-scale enterprises in the Philippines through the following technologies: 3G high-speed packet access, or HSPA, 4G HSPA+, LTE, broadband-enabled base stations and WiMAX. SBI’s wireless broadband revenue contribution increased by Php809 million, or 12%, to Php7,558 million in 2013 from Php6,749 million in 2012. As at December 31, 2013, we had 1,909,209 subscribers, an increase of 182,315 subscribers, or 11%, as compared with 1,726,894 subscribers as at December 31, 2012. SmartBro aims to strengthen our position in the wireless data service and complements PLDT’s myDSL service in areas where the latter is not available.

SBI also offers myBro, a fixed wireless broadband service being offered under PLDT’s Home megabrand. myBro fixed wireless broadband service is powered either via a link to Smart’s wireless broadband-enabled base stations which allows subscribers to connect to the internet using an outdoor aerial antenna installed in the subscriber’s home or via Smart’s WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) network. myBro revenues increased by Php332 million, or 8%, to Php4,314 million in 2013 from Php3,982 million in 2012 primarily due to an increase in subscriber base by 8,858, or 2%, to 436,094 as at December 31, 2013 from 427,236 as at December 31, 2012.

DMPI

Through DMPI, with its Sun Broadband Wireless service, we are engaged in providing wireless broadband and data services to residential consumers as well as small and medium-scale enterprises in the Philippines. DMPI’s Sun Broadband Wireless service offers internet users broadband wireless service with 3.5G HSPA technology on an all-IP network. Sun Broadband Wireless aims to strengthen our position in the wireless data service and complements PLDT’s myDSL service in areas where the latter is not available. Sun Cellular also offers the SBW Gadget Bundle available under Plans 600 and 999, which comes with a free tablet and pocket wifi. DMPI’s wireless broadband revenue contribution increased by Php17 million, or 1%, to Php1,874 million in 2013 from Php1,857 million in 2012. As at December 31, 2013, DMPI had 309,756 and 234,861 prepaid and postpaid broadband subscribers, respectively, as compared with 356,068 and 276,062 prepaid and postpaid broadband subscribers, respectively, in 2012.

PDSI

PDSI provides a suite of high-value IP-based products servicing corporate clients, such as wired and wireless leased line access with security and high availability option, managed services, VoIP and other value-added services such as server co-location and data center services.

ACeS Philippines

ACeS Philippines currently owns approximately 36.99% of ACeS International Limited, or AIL. AIL provides satellite-based communications to users in the Asia-Pacific region through the ACeS System and ACeS Service. AIL has entered into interconnection agreements and roaming service agreements with PLDT and other major telecommunications operators that allow ACeS service subscribers to access GSM terrestrial cellular systems in addition to the ACeS System. Further, AIL has an amended Air Time Purchase Agreement, or ATPA, with National Service Providers in Asia, including PLDT. See Note 24 – Related Party Transactions and Note 27 – Financial Assets and Liabilities to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion regarding the ATPA.

 

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As part of the integration process of the PLDT Group’s wireless business, ACeS Philippines’ operations have been integrated into Smart. This operational integration effectively gives Smart the widest service coverage in the Philippines through the combination of the coverage of ACeS Philippines with Smart’s cellular service.

Revenues

Our revenues from wireless broadband, satellite and other services consist of wireless broadband service revenues of SBI, DMPI and PDSI, revenues from ACeS Philippines’ satellite information and messaging services, revenues from content and mobile applications services from Chikka Group; and service revenues generated from MVNO services of PLDT Global’s subsidiaries.

Rates

myBro, SBI’s fixed wireless broadband service linked to Smart’s wireless broadband-enabled base stations, allows subscribers to connect to the internet using an outdoor aerial antenna installed in a subscriber’s home.

SBI offers mobile internet access through SmartBro Plug-It, a wireless modem, and SmartBro Pocket Wifi, a portable wireless router which can be shared by up to five users at a time. Both provide instant connectivity in places where there is Smart network coverage. SmartBro Plug-It and SmartBro Pocket Wifi are available in both postpaid and prepaid variants. Standard browsing charge is Php5 worth of load for Bro prepaid and Php2.50 for Bro postpaid (excluding Unli and LTE plans) for 15-minute internet access. SBI also offers unlimited internet surfing with Unli Surf200, Unli Surf85 and Unli Surf50 for SmartBro Plug-It Prepaid and SmartBro Pocket Wifi subscribers with specific internet usage needs. We also have an additional array of load packages that offer per minute-based and volume-based charging and longer validity periods.

SmartBro WiMAX service is available in Metropolitan Manila and selected key cities in Visayas and Mindanao. WiMAX is a wide area network technology that allows for a more efficient radio-band usage, improved interference avoidance and higher data rates over a longer distance. WiMAX unlimited broadband usage is available under Plans 799 and 999 with burst speeds of up to 512 kbps and 1 Mbps, respectively.

DMPI’s Sun Broadband Wireless service offers internet users affordable broadband wireless service with the most advanced 3.5G HSPA technology on an all-IP network. Sun Broadband Wireless has plans and offerings ranging from Php250 to Php1,399 with speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps, except for Plan 1399 which has a speed of up to 7.2 Mbps.

ACeS fixed/mobile service subscribers are charged Php15.00 per minute for local and mobile calls for on-net transactions, while off-net transactions are charged Php18.00. Rates for international long distance calls depend on the country of termination and range from US$0.35 per minute for frequently called countries to US$0.85 per minute for less frequently called countries.

Fixed Line

We provide local exchange, international long distance, national long distance, data and other network and miscellaneous services under our fixed line business.

We offer postpaid and prepaid fixed line services. Initially intended as an affordable alternative telephone service for consumers under difficult economic conditions, our prepaid fixed line services now form an important part of our overall churn and credit risk exposure management strategy.

Local Exchange Service

Our local exchange service, which consists of our basic voice telephony business, is provided primarily through PLDT. We also provide local exchange services through our subsidiaries – Philcom and its subsidiaries, BCC, PLDT Global Group, ClarkTel, SubicTel, SBI, PDSI, Maratel and Digitel. Together, these subsidiaries account for approximately 8% of our consolidated fixed line subscribers.

The following table summarizes key measures of our local exchange services as at and for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:

 

     2013     2012     2011(1)  

Number of local exchange line subscribers

     2,069,419        2,063,794        2,166,295   

Number of fixed line employees

     7,415        7,546        9,072   

Number of local exchange line subscribers per employee

     279        273        239   

Total local exchange service revenues (in millions)

   Php 16,274      Php 16,470      Php 15,719   

Local exchange service revenues as a percentage of total fixed line service revenues

     26     28     28

Local exchange service revenues as a percentage of total service revenues

     9     9     10

 

(1) 

Includes Digitel’s local exchange revenue contribution of Php178 million, subscriber base of 296,395 and employee count of 1,586 for the period from October 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

Revenues from our local exchange service amounted to Php16,274 million in 2013, Php16,470 million in 2012 and Php15,719 million in 2011. The decrease in revenues in 2013 from 2012 was primarily due to lower weighted average billed lines and a decrease in ARPU on account of lower fixed charges due to the increase in demand for bundled voice and data services, partially offset by higher installation and activation charges. The percentage contribution of local exchange revenues to our total fixed line service revenues accounted for 26% in 2013, and 28% in each of 2012 and 2011.

 

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Rates

Basic monthly charges for our local exchange service vary according to the type of customer (business or residential) and location, with charges for urban customers generally being higher than those for rural/provincial customers. Regular installation charges amount to Php1,100 for residential customers and Php1,500 for business customers. New products launched on promotion or products bundled with existing services usually waive the installation fee or allow for a minimal installation fee of Php500. Aside from basic monthly charges, we charge our postpaid subscribers separately for NDD, IDD and calls to mobile phones. Generally, calls between PLDT and other landlines within a local area code are free. Our prepaid fixed line customers do not pay a basic monthly charge but they can load a minimum amount of Php200, which will expire in a month, to have unlimited incoming calls. To make outbound calls, customers must top-up, as local calls are charged Php2.00 per call and tolls are charged separately depending on the type of call. Recently, the Php300 load plan was introduced to the market with 600 free local outgoing minutes and unlimited incoming calls for one month. To make outbound calls, in excess of the free minutes, prepaid fixed line customers must top-up their load, with all local calls charged at Php2.00 per call while tolls are charged separately depending on the type of call.

PLDT offers both prepaid and postpaid PLP, where subscribers to the services benefit from a text-capable home phone which allows subscribers to bring the telephone set anywhere within the home zone area. These services are primarily intended for subscribers in areas where PLDT has no fixed cable facilities and is expected to increase our fixed line subscriber base.

Currently, for the PLP postpaid regular service, there are two plans being offered: (i) Plan 600 and (ii) Plan 1,000, both with unlimited local outgoing calls. Another postpaid service currently offered is the Call All plan wherein PLP is bundled with PLDT fixed line service for a monthly service fee of Php850. PLDT also offers wireless broadband services bundled with voice namely: Home Bundle 1299 and Internet@Home plans are offered in two plans with monthly service fees of Php990 and Php1,299.

For the PLP prepaid service, there are two load plans being offered: (i) Php300 load denomination with free 600 local outgoing minutes and unlimited incoming calls for one month; and (ii) Php150 load denomination with free 250 local outgoing minutes and unlimited incoming calls valid for 15 days. Both prepaid plans charges Php2 per call in excess of free local outgoing minutes.

Pursuant to a currency exchange rate adjustment, or CERA, a mechanism authorized by the NTC, we are allowed to adjust our postpaid monthly local service rates upward or downward by 1% for every Php0.10 change in the Philippine peso-to-U.S. dollar exchange rate relative to a base rate of Php11.00 to US$1.00. In a letter dated July 11, 2008, the NTC had approved our request to implement a rate rationalization program for our local service rates. In 2013, we have not made any adjustment in our monthly local service rates.

For a detailed description of these rates, see “– International Long Distance Service – Rates” and “– National Long Distance Service – Rates.”

In the first quarter of 2005, HB No. 926 was filed and is pending in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The proposed bill provides for the cancellation of the currency exchange rate mechanism currently in place. If this bill is passed into law or if the NTC issues guidelines to change the basis of the currency exchange rate mechanism, our ability to generate U.S. dollar linked revenues from our local exchange business could be adversely affected.

International Long Distance Service

Our international long distance service consists of switched voice and packet-based voice and data services that go through our IGFs. We also generate international long distance revenues through access charges paid to us by other Philippine telecommunications carriers for incoming international voice calls that terminate on our local exchange network. Our voice services are transmitted over traditional TDM and IP networks. Revenues from our international long distance service amounted to Php11,422 million in 2013, Php10,789 million in 2012 and Php11,342 million in 2011.

The following table shows certain information about our international long distance services for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:

 

     2013     2012     2011(1)  

Total call volumes (in million minutes)

     2,185        2,150        2,029   

Inbound call volumes (in million minutes)

     1,806        1,691        1,767   

Outbound call volumes (in million minutes)

     379        459        262   

Inbound-outbound call ratio (in minutes)

     4.8:1        3.7:1        6.7:1   

Total international long distance service revenues (in millions)

   Php 11,422      Php 10,789      Php 11,342   

International long distance service revenues as a percentage of total fixed line service revenues

     18     18     20

International long distance service revenues as a percentage of total service revenues

     6     6     7

 

(1) 

Includes Digitel’s international long distance service revenue contribution of Php234 million and call volumes of 58 million minutes for the period from October 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

International long distance service historically has been a major source of our revenue. Although we experienced a decline in international long distance service revenues in 2012 due to lower inbound termination and collection rates, as well as intense competition, international long distance service revenues posted a 6% increase in 2013 mainly due to the favorable effect of higher weighted average exchange rate of the Philippine peso to the U.S. dollar.

We have been pursuing a number of initiatives to strengthen our international long distance service business, including: (i) lowering our inbound termination rates; (ii) identifying and containing unauthorized traffic termination on our network; (iii) being more selective in accepting incoming traffic from second- and third-tier international carriers; and (iv) introducing a number of marketing initiatives, including substantial cuts in international direct dialing rates, innovative pricing packages for large accounts and loyalty programs for customers. In addition,

 

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through PLDT Global, we aggregate inbound call traffic to the Philippines at our points of presence and, using our capacity in submarine cable systems connected to each point of presence, transmit calls to our network. PLDT Global is also enhancing the presence of PLDT in other international markets by offering products and services such as international prepaid calling cards, virtual mobile services, SMS transit and other global bandwidth services. We believe these strategies will help us maximize the use of our existing international facilities and develop alternative sources of revenue.

The table below sets forth the net settlement amounts for international calls handled by PLDT, by country, for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:

 

     Net Settlement  
     2013      2012      2011  
     (in millions)  

Saudi Arabia

   US$ 71       US$ 49       US$ 71   

United Arab Emirates

     31         27         18   

United States

     22         19         22   

Canada

     11         7         3   

Malaysia

     9         7         2   

Hong Kong

     7         8         9   

Taiwan

     7         10         12   

UK

     5         4         4   

Japan

     5         11         11   

Others

     14         19         25   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   US$ 182       US$ 161       US$ 177   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Rates

The average termination rate for PLDT was US$0.095 per minute in 2011, and approximately US$0.09 in 2012 and 2013.

Rates for outbound international long distance calls are based on type of service, whether operator-assisted or direct-dialed. Our rates are quoted in U.S. dollars and are billed in Philippine pesos. The Philippine peso amounts are determined at the time of billing. We charge a flat rate of US$0.40 per minute to retail customers for direct-dialed calls, applicable to all call destinations at any time on any day of the week.

We also offer international long distance service through PLDT Budget Card, a prepaid call card, which offers low-priced international calling services to 98 calling destinations (including 16 Middle East destinations) with rates ranging from Php1.50 per minute to Php15 per minute. PLDT Budget Card comes in two denominations: Php100, which can be consumed within 30 days from first use, and Php200, which can be consumed within 60 days from first use.

The standard IDD rate of US$0.40 per minute is being offered in all Digitel regular retail plans. To cater to the growing overseas foreign workers market, Digitel launched Choice Elite offering outbound IDD rates to top destination countries for as low as US$0.14 per minute and product bundles for Digitel DSL and SunTel offering a US$0.10 per minute calling to select country destinations.

We also offer lower international rates such as ID-DSL which has a monthly service fee of Php99 with 30 minutes of free calls to selected countries and a rate of as low as Php1 per minute in excess of free minutes.

National Long Distance Service

Our national long distance services are provided primarily through PLDT. This service consists of voice services for calls made by our fixed line customers outside of their local service areas within the Philippines and access charges paid to us by other telecommunications carriers for wireless and fixed line calls carried through our backbone network and/or terminating to our fixed line customers.

The following table shows certain information about our national long distance services for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:

 

     2013     2012     2011(1)  

Total call volumes (in million minutes)

     852        971        1,126   

Total national long distance service revenues (in millions)

   Php 4,583      Php 5,046      Php 5,537   

National long distance service revenue as a percentage of total fixed line service revenues

     7     9     10

National long distance service revenue as a percentage of total service revenues

     3     3     3

 

(1) 

Includes Digitel’s national long distance service revenue contribution of Php50 million and call volume of 10 million minutes for the period from October 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

Cellular substitution and the widespread availability and growing popularity of alternative, more economical non-voice means of communications, particularly e-mailing, cellular text messaging and social networking sites, have negatively affected our national long distance call volumes and higher ARPU. Furthermore, certain promotions on our national long distance calling rates ended in 2013. The integration of some of our local exchanges into a single local calling area, as approved by the NTC, as well as the interconnection among local telcos, has also negatively affected our national long distance call volumes, and consequently, our revenues. Because of this integration, calls between two exchanges located within the same province are no longer considered national long distance calls but are treated as local calls.

 

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Rates

Rates for national long distance calls traditionally were based on type of service, such as whether the call is operator-assisted or direct-dialed. However, in line with its move towards rate simplification, PLDT simplified these rates in recent years for calls originating from and terminating to the PLDT fixed line network and for calls terminating to fixed line networks of other LECs. PLDT also simplified its rates for calls terminating to cellular subscribers.

In addition, PLDT bundles the free PLDT-to-PLDT calls in some promotions and product/service launchings in order to stimulate fixed line usage.

We continue to evaluate the rate structure of our national long distance services from per minute toll charges to flat rates per call for calls of unlimited duration. This is envisioned to make fixed line rates more competitive with VoIP rates and to revitalize interest in fixed line usage. We continue to study various pricing models in respect of the above new rate plans.

PLDT currently has interconnection arrangements with the majority of other LECs, pursuant to which the originating carrier pays: (1) a hauling charge of Php0.50 per minute for short-haul traffic or Php1.25 per minute for long-haul traffic to the carrier owning the backbone network; and (2) an access charge ranging from Php1.00 per minute to Php3.00 per minute to the terminating carrier. PLDT still maintains revenue-sharing arrangements with a few other LECs, whereby charges are generally apportioned 30% for the originating entity, 40% for the backbone owner and the remaining 30% for the terminating entity.

Data and Other Network Services

Our data and other network service revenues include charges for broadband, leased lines and IP-based services. These services are used for broadband internet, and domestic and international private data networking communications.

The following table summarizes key measures of our data and other network services as at and for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:

 

     2013     2012     2011(1)  

Subscriber base:

      

Broadband

     961,967        887,399        842,273   

SWUP

     30,302        22,720        20,153   

Total data and other network service revenues (in millions)

   Php 27,472      Php 25,059      Php 22,544   

Domestic

     19,917        18,436        16,404   

Broadband

     12,307        11,246        9,517   

Leased Lines and Others

     7,610        7,190        6,887   

International

      

Leased Lines and Others

     5,787        5,524        5,229   

Data Center

     1,768        1,099        911   

Data and other network service revenues as a percentage of total fixed line service revenues

     45     42     39

Data and other network service revenues as a percentage of total service revenues

     15     14     14

 

(1) 

Includes Digitel’s data and other network service revenue contribution of Php221 million for the period from October 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011 and DSL subscribers of 99,367 as at December 31, 2011.

Recognizing the growth potential of data and other networking services, including IP-based services, and in light of their importance to our business strategy, we have been putting considerable emphasis on these service segments. These segments registered the highest percentage growth in revenues among our fixed line services from 2011 to 2013.

The continuous upgrading of our network using next-generation facilities and the completion of our domestic fiber optic backbone has enabled us to offer a growing range of broadband and value-added services. With this and other technological upgrades, our infrastructure has developed from a traditional voice facility to a nationwide data network.

Domestic data services consist of broadband data services and leased lines and other data services.

In 2013, we continued to broaden our service offerings with the launch of new services and expansion or enhancement of some of the existing offerings.

Broadband data services include DSL broadband internet service, which is intended for individual internet users, small and medium enterprises, and large corporations with multiple branches, and Fibr, our most advanced broadband internet connection.

At the start of 2013, PLDT introduced new bandwidth variants of DSL offerings for businesses with speeds as fast as 15 Mbps, and hardware bundle options where large enterprise customers are able to get top-of-the-line, branded IT devices of their choice together with their DSL. PLDT iGate, the direct internet access offering for corporate requirements, continued its strong performance due to an increase in sales and subscriber base.

Leased lines and other data services include: (i) Diginet, a domestic private leased line service, specifically supporting Smart’s fiber optic and leased line network requirements; (ii) IP-VPN, an end-to-end managed IP-based or Layer 3 data networking service that offers secure means to access corporate network resources; (iii) Metro Ethernet, a high-speed, Layer 2, wide area networking service that enables mission-critical data transfers; (iv) Shops.Work, a connectivity solution designed for retailers and franchisers, linking company branches to the head office; and (v) SWUP, a wireless VPN service that powers mobile point-of-sale terminals and off-site bank ATMs, as well as other retail outlets located in remote areas.

 

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International leased lines and other data services consist mainly of: (i) i-Gate, our premium, direct internet access service, which continues to be the choice among enterprise users for dedicated internet connectivity, as bandwidth capability goes beyond 200 Mbps, where heavy users can be provided with as much as 1,000 Mbps of direct i-Gate internet bandwidth, complemented by industry-leading Service Level Agreements; (ii) Fibernet, which provides cost-effective and reliable bilateral point-to-point private data networking connectivity, through our extensive international alliances, to offshore and outsourcing, banking and finance, and semiconductor industries; and (iii) other international managed data services in partnership with other global service providers, which provide data networking services to multinational companies.

In 2013, PLDT launched a fully meshed and managed international platform to the U.S. and Hong Kong designed for automatic switching and rerouting in milliseconds that enables various international submarine cables to act as multiple protections while promoting single connectivity. This platform provides subscribers a combination of low latency and high capacity services and allows uninterrupted and dedicated communication for their business data, voice, video and other telecommunications service, as well as provides improved network performance and global service level experience.

VitroTM data center, the Philippines’ pioneer and only purpose-built network of data centers, provides co-location or rental services, server hosting, disaster recovery, business continuity services, and a host of managed ICT solutions to meet the growing ICT outsourcing needs of enterprise customers. The co-location business was the main growth driver in 2013 and was further boosted by revenues from cloud management, IT professional and VAS services, as well as increased licenses subscription.

PLDT completed and commercially launched the Philippine’s first carrier-grade cloud infrastructure in 2012. Following the launch, PLDT undertook a marketing campaign directed at both large enterprises and SMEs, which involved initiatives including customer events and free trial offers. PLDT’s cloud portfolio has grown to comprise infrastructure, platform and software solutions. PLDT has introduced customizable software solutions using the cloud infrastructure, in the areas of customer relationship management, supply chain management, human resources and payroll accounting, franchise management and others.

PLDT has initiated efforts to modernize its network, including through the deployment of fiber-to-the-home, or FTTH, technology which allows for high-speed internet connections at speeds of up to 100 Mbps. In addition to internet access, this technology is expected to support the offering of multimedia services, such as interactive video services, and to serve as a platform for the provision of cable television by facilitating the streaming of high-definition video.

For three consecutive years, PLDT has been the sole Philippine telecommunications company that has consistently been a finalist and awardee for Metro Ethernet Forum Carrier Ethernet Awards. PLDT was awarded the Best Marketing for the Asia-Pacific Region recognizing PLDT’s global competitiveness and leadership for international and domestic enterprise data services.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous services provide directory advertising, facilities management, rental fees and other services which are conducted through our wholly-owned subsidiary, ePLDT, and its subsidiaries, a broad-based integrated information and communications technology company.

Infrastructure

Wireless Network Infrastructure

Cellular

Through Smart and DMPI, we operate a digital GSM network. To meet the growing demand for cellular services, Smart and DMPI have implemented an extensive deployment program for its GSM network covering substantially all of Metropolitan Manila and most of the other population centers in the Philippines. As at December 31, 2013, Smart and DMPI have 64 mobile switching centers, 81 text messaging service centers and 20,770 cellular/mobile broadband base stations in operation after consolidating Smart’s 14,074 base stations to its nationwide cellular network.

Smart has an operating spectrum of 7.5 MHz in the 900 band and 20 MHz in the 1800 band for its GSM network; and 15 MHz in the 2100 band and 10 MHz in the 850 band assigned for 3G and W-CDMA. Smart was awarded a 3G license by the NTC in 2005 and received the largest radio frequency allocation of 15 MHz. Smart chose the 1920-1935 MHz and 2110-2125 MHz spectrum, the range that would best enable it to rapidly deploy its 3G network nationwide and at the same time offer a high quality of 3G service. CURE was assigned 10 MHz of 3G frequency bandwidth in the 1955-1965 to 1955-2155 MHz spectrum, which is the subject of the divestment plan as presented by PLDT to the NTC in relation to PLDT’s acquisition of Digitel. DMPI has a total operating spectrum of 17.5 MHz in the 1800 band and 10 MHz band in the 2100 band, with the latter under the 1935-1945 MHz and 2125-2135 MHz spectrum, contiguous to Smart’s 15 MHz spectrum. See “– Development Activities (2011-2013) – Divestment of CURE” and Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Divestment of CURE to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion.

Smart has been co-locating its cell sites where its base stations are installed. In addition, 30 of Smart’s mobile switching centers were housed in PLDT’s fixed line complexes as at December 31, 2013. These operational synergies have allowed Smart to reduce switch installation time from three months to five weeks. Due to its access to PLDT’s network facilities, Smart has been able to achieve significant capital expenditure savings, which capital expenditures are understood to be significantly less, on a per net addition basis, than its current competitors. This translates into an improved ability to price competitively and target the mass market subscriber base in the Philippines, while retaining profitability.

 

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Smart has been continuously extending its 3G footprint. The 3G network revolutionizes mobile technology by providing more capacity, faster data rates and richer data and video applications from a 2G network. Smart has also been deploying its HSPA+ network in urban areas where there is a demand for mobile broadband applications and where HSPA+ mobile units are more likely to be available.

Smart launched its fourth generation (4G) LTE network in August 2012. To date, Smart has established its LTE network coverage with 1,172 LTE base stations in strategic locations in the Philippines. Forthcoming are deployments in select high traffic areas in the nation’s capital and strategic locations to benefit more members of the Philippine population.

In 2012, the PLDT Group completed its two-year network transformation program covering fixed line, cellular and broadband networks, not only to achieve operating and cost efficiencies and lay the foundation for future technological advances, but primarily to provide superior quality of experience to subscribers. The program, with a total cost of Php67 billion, also included convergent IT transformation that enhanced business analytics, customer relations management and operations support systems.

Wireless Broadband, Satellite and Other Services

Smart Broadband operates a nationwide broadband wireless internet data services. It is operating in the 2.4, 2.5, 3.5 and 5.7 GHz spectrum, supporting its WiFi, Canopy and WiMAX services, respectively. It offers fixed wireless broadband internet connectivity to both residential and corporate clients. It also maintains and operates WiFi hotspots installations that serve mobile internet users. Smart also upgraded its 3G network to High-Speed Downlik Packet Access to provide users with high download data rates and an improved broadband experience. More than 2,900 of Smart’s base stations are now wireless broadband-capable, covering most of the key cities and the other populated centers in the country. These are strategically co-located in Smart’s cellular base stations that allow it to efficiently reach many subscribers. For its backbone, it uses the nationwide PLDT and Smart fiber optic and IP backbone that provide substantial bandwidth capacity to utilize and to grow on demand.

ACeS Philippines manages, controls and operates its own satellite gateway and other ground infrastructure, including a 13-meter feeder-link C-band earth station, beam congruency antenna and equipment that serve as the primary interface between the ACeS System and other telecommunications networks. It uses the Garuda I satellite to transmit digital voice services to ACeS System, mobile and fixed terminal users within the Asian service area.

Fixed Line Network Infrastructure

Domestic

Our domestic telephone network includes installed telephones and other equipment, such as modems on customers’ premises, copper and fiber access lines referred to as “outside plant connecting customers to our exchanges,” inter-exchange fiber optics connecting exchanges, and long distance transmission equipment with unmatched capacity and reach. We have a total of 271 central office exchanges nationwide as at December 31, 2013 and are continuously expanding the wireline infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas enabling our customers to access to the Philippine’s largest network and to the rest of the world.

We are continuing the upgrade of our fixed line facilities to fully IP-based platforms that can deliver voice and data services using a single copper or fiber line to the customer with better quality of service. This migration initiative enables us to fully replace the aging Public Switched Telephone Network, or PSTN, transfer existing customers to these newer platforms, and ensure the best service for new customers of voice and data services for their present and future needs. We expect to complete the upgrading of our fixed line facilities in early 2015, providing subscribers with a diversified range of telecommunication services using IP technology.

One of these platforms, FTTH, is an advanced access technology that employs fiber optics all the way up to customer premises. To realize this, we are building a fiber distribution network that will connect homes and other premises to further ensure their internet quality kilometers away from the serving exchange. This new optical fiber distribution network will eventually replace conventional copper cable. At present, FTTH is potentially capable of delivering up to 2.5 Gigabits per second, or Gbps, of bandwidth to customers. Its huge bandwidth, when tapped, could enable the Company to additionally deliver high-bandwidth content and services to our subscribers. These include high definition broadcast television, video-on-demand, and other new services now being offered by leading telcos abroad. We have been testing FTTH since 2006 and in 2012 began deploying FTTH in high-end and selected upper middle villages in Metropolitan Manila.

For many years up until today, PLDT has been using the poles of Meralco in Metropolitan Manila and in the rest of Meralco’s service areas for PLDT’s outside plant aerial cable pursuant to lease agreements with Meralco.

We are also continuously upgrading our data and transport networks to our fully IP-based platforms. This enables us also to retire our old data network and provide new capabilities for our corporate data customers such as enhanced visibility into their network and better quality of service. We also expect to complete this project in 2015 and intend to continually evolve our infrastructure ready to cater to future technology.

The network includes an internet gateway that is composed of high capacity and high performance routers that serve as our IP network gateway that connects the Philippines to the rest of the world. It provides premium and differentiated internet service to all types of customers ranging from ordinary broadband to high bandwidth internet requirements of corporate customers, knowledge processing solution providers, internet service providers and even other service providers.

Furthermore, we have several networks that provide domestic and international connectivity for corporate customers and other carriers. These include the Multi-Service Access Platform, or MSAP, based on Synchronous Digital Hierarchy, or SDH, technology and legacy data networks that provide wide range of bandwidth from low speed to high speed capacity in Gbps. These MSAP networks are deployed in strategic areas nationwide. In 2013, we completed Phase 4 deployment of our carrier ethernet network to serve the growing demand for ethernet services from the corporate segment and prepare the network for full migration highlighting delivery of

 

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multimedia services. Carrier ethernet service is a global standard for secure, scalable, resilient, cost effective, and high bandwidth point to point or multi-point connectivity using the simple and ubiquitous Ethernet technology delivered through PLDT’s carrier ethernet certified network. It supports enterprise requirement such as data storage, headquarter to branch connectivity, headquarter to disaster recovery site connectivity, cloud services and backhaul for mobile/LTE services.

The PLDT DFON is a nationwide backbone network. The DFON is comprised of 11,200 kilometers of fiber optic cable installed across the country connecting its major islands. It is the first fiber optic backbone network in the country and is used in delivering voice, video, data, and other broadband and multimedia services nationwide. It is comprised of nodes connected by terrestrial and submarine cable links and is configured in seven major loops and four subtended loops. The DFON’s loops provide self-healing protection and alternative routes for added resiliency and protection against single and multiple fiber breaks along the different segments. The DFON uses the ROADM and 10/40/100G technology which give it greater flexibility for capacity and expansion. The network also includes interconnectivity among the three international cable landing stations of PLDT with its own backhaul capacity and resiliency under the same DFON platform. To date, the network has an aggregated capacity of nearly 6 Terabits per second. The DFON is complemented by a terrestrial microwave backbone network to deliver services to areas not covered by fixed terrestrial transport network.

We likewise have an IP backbone network, or IPBB, composed of high-capacity, high-performance core and edge routers which provide connectivity to all IP-based network elements of PLDT, Smart, subsidiaries and affiliates and corporate customers. It serves as the common and highly resilient IP transport platform for all IP-based services of the PLDT Group. Both the DFON and IPBB serve as the common high bandwidth Fiber Optic Cable-based backbone for the PLDT Group.

Aside from the DFON and IPBB, the PLDT Group has embarked on further synergy initiatives to rationalize and integrate its networks which include, among others, the outside plant, the DSL network, the IP backbone, the transmission systems, the internet gateway, international voice gateway, the PSTN, and NGN. These initiatives are expected to complement and enhance coverage and capacity for all networks in the PLDT Group.

We are continuously integrating Digitel’s fixed line to PLDT’s infrastructure. Digitel has a legacy PSTN network in all of its service areas in Luzon and Metropolitan Manila and also has a DSL network deployed in a majority of its service areas. Digitel has a Luzon-wide transmission system consisting of microwave radio and fiber optics systems used to connect transit exchanges and other operators. The majority of Digitel’s transmission network runs on microwave radio systems. Digitel has its own IP backbone, internet gateway and international voice gateway.

Considering the similarity of technology used, service coverage and products being offered, we believe there are significant potential gains for cost efficiency through a converged network. Customer care systems and operation support systems are also be rationalized and integrated to align with the converged network.

International

PLDT provides international network services via two international gateways. PLDT’s two international gateways are located in the cities of Manila and Makati. At the moment we have two new IP softswitches that are expected to replace PLDT two legacy switches which we use to provide international voice services. As at December 31, 2013, PLDT’s international long distance facilities allow direct correspondence with 39 countries (representing 81 correspondents) and can reach 979 foreign destinations (via direct and transited routes including fixed and mobile network destination breakouts) worldwide.

As at December 31, 2013, Digitel’s international long distance facilities also allows direct interconnection with 32 correspondents in 16 countries and can reach more than 200 foreign networks/destinations (including fixed and mobile network breakouts) worldwide. In addition, Digitel has two IGF switches, located in Mandaluyong City and Quezon City which complements PLDT’s reach.

We also own interests in submarine cable systems, through which we route all of our international voice and data traffic as well as private data lines.

The table below shows the submarine cable systems in which PLDT has interests and the countries or territories they link:

 

Cable System

  

Countries Being Linked

Asia-Pacific Cable Network 2, or APCN2    Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, China and Taiwan
SEA-ME-WE-3    Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, France, UK, Belgium and Germany
China-United States Cable Network, or CUCN    Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Guam and the U.S. Mainland
FLAG Cable    Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, India, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Spain and UK
Southern Cross Cable    U.S. Mainland, Hawaii, Fiji, Australia and New Zealand
East Asia Crossing, or EAC Cable    Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines
Pacific Crossing-1, or PC1, Japan-U.S., TGN-P, Unity    Japan and the U.S.
AAG Cable Network, or AAG    Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Hong Kong, Philippines, Guam, Hawaii and the U.S. Mainland
Asia Submarine-cable Express, or ASE    Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong

PLDT, in partnership with leading telecom firms in Asia, completed the construction of the ASE optical fiber cable expansion to Hong Kong in February 2013. The 7,800-kilometer undersea cable network uses 40 Gbps technology that is upgradeable to 100 Gbps, with a minimum design capacity of 15 Terabits. With its landing station at Daet, Camarines Norte, the ASE provides the first and only direct cable connection from the Philippines to Japan that avoids the earthquake-prone sea south of Taiwan, through which the other cable systems pass.

 

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In April 2013, the AAG upgrade project was completed, providing PLDT with additional capacity. PLDT has also acquired additional transpacific capacities in Unity and TGN-P to interconnect with ASE.

In addition, Digitel maintains submarine cable capacities in EAC, PC1 and CUCN.

The extent of PLDT’s international cable infrastructure provides not only significant capacity in support of the business, it also ensures resiliency and redundancy in order to minimize service disruptions and guarantee continuity of service. PLDT’s international cable network improves reliability and enables it to offer services with automatic switching.

Interconnection Agreements

Since the issuance of E.O. No. 59 in 1993, which requires non-discriminatory interconnection of Philippine carriers’ networks, we have entered into bilateral interconnection arrangements with other Philippine fixed line and cellular carriers.

In January 2009, the access charge for domestic calls from one fixed line to a fixed line in another network was updated in the range of Php1.00 per minute to Php3.00 per minute while the access charge for calls from fixed line to CMTS was updated to Php4.00 per minute. The change for CMTS calls to fixed line network remained at Php3.00 per minute.

PLDT is an Inter-Exchange Carrier providing transit service among CMTS, LEC operators including the PAPTELCO. Transit is a service being provided by PLDT to connect calls from one carrier to other carriers most of which have no direct interconnection. Since January 2009, PLDT’s transit fee remains at Php0.50 per minute for short haul (intra-island), Php1.25 per minute for long-haul (inter-island) and Php1.14 per minute for CMTS calls.

PLDT has continuously and actively negotiated with other legitimate Philippine fixed and CMTS carriers for interconnection based on the guidelines being issued by the NTC or any authorized government agency. These carriers include the major fixed and mobile players in the industry with nationwide operations, PAPTELCO and other non-PAPTELCO players, both of which usually operate in selected towns in the countryside. As at December 31, 2013, PAPTELCO has 41 member companies, of which 33 are active, operating 90 main telephone exchanges in the countryside.

As at December 31, 2013, the PLDT Group is interconnected with 94 foreign carriers from 41 countries reaching more than 600 international destinations.

The average international termination rate for calls to PLDT was retained at approximately US$0.09 per minute in 2013. Despite the global trend towards reductions in wholesale international termination rates, PLDT has only implemented modest rate reductions since 2009. Also, PLDT carries international calls terminating at Smart and Sun Cellular network where it has no direct interconnections.

In 2013, the average international termination rate for calls to Smart was approximately US$0.125 per minute and the rate for Sun Cellular was approximately US$0.108 per minute.

Access charge for SMS from Smart to other CMTS operators and vice versa had been reduced from Php0.35 per SMS to Php0.15 per SMS effective November 30, 2011, as mandated by the NTC through Memorandum Circular No. 02-10-2011.

Licenses and Regulations

Licenses

PLDT, SubicTel, ClarkTel, Philcom, Digitel, Smart, SBI, DMPI and CURE provide telecommunications services pursuant to legislative franchises which will expire, in the case of PLDT, on November 28, 2028; in the case of SubicTel, on January 22, 2020; in the case of ClarkTel, on June 30, 2024; in the case of Philcom, in November 2019; in the case of Digitel, in February 2019; in the case of Smart, on March 27, 2017 and with respect to spectrum transferred from PCEV, on May 14, 2019; in the case of SBI, on July 14, 2022; in the case of DMPI, on December 11, 2027; and in the case of CURE, on April 24, 2026, although PLDT has agreed to divest the CURE spectrum as a part of the NTC decision with respect to PLDT’s acquisition of a controlling interest in Digitel. A franchise holder is required to obtain operating authority from the NTC to provide specific telecommunications services authorized under its franchise. These approvals may take the form of a CPCN, or, while an application for a CPCN is pending, a provisional authority to operate. Provisional authorities are typically granted for a period of 18 months. The Philippine Revised Administrative Code of 1987 provides that if the grantee of a license or permit, such as a CPCN or provisional authority, has made timely and sufficient application for the extension thereof, the existing CPCN or provisional authority will not expire until the application is finally decided upon by the administrative agency concerned.

 

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PLDT

PLDT operates its business pursuant to a number of provisional authorities and CPCNs, the terms of which will expire at various dates between now and 2028. The CPCNs pursuant to which PLDT may provide services to most of the Metropolitan Manila area, Davao and other Philippine cities expired in 2003. Although some of PLDT’s CPCNs and provisional authorities have already expired, PLDT filed applications for extension of these CPCNs and provisional authorities prior to their respective expiration dates and is therefore entitled to continue to conduct its business under its existing CPCNs and provisional authorities pending the NTC’s decision on these extensions. PLDT expects that the NTC will grant these extensions; however, there can be no assurance that this will occur. The periods of validity of some of PLDT’s CPCNs has been extended further by the NTC to November 28, 2028, coterminous with PLDT’s current franchise under R.A. 7082. Motions to extend the period of validity of the other CPCNs to November 28, 2028 have been granted by the NTC. See Item 3. “Key Information – Risk Factors – Risk Factors Relating to The Company and Its Business – Our business is significantly affected by governmental laws and regulations, including regulations in respect of our franchises, rates and taxes, and laws relating to anti-competitive practices and monopoly” for further discussion.

On August 22, 2008, PLDT was granted authority under NTC Case No. 2007-095 to operate in key cities and municipalities nationwide not yet covered by its existing CPCNs and/or authorizations. This approval extended the coverage of PLDT to all areas nationwide except for seven areas in Albay province. On July 17, 2009, the NTC granted PLDT a provisional authority under NTC Case No. 2006-078 to operate in the seven areas in Albay, thereby, authorizing it to operate nationwide.

On August 31, 2011, the NTC rendered its decision in NTC Case No. 2011-030 granting provisional authority for PLDT to participate in the ownership, construction and maintenance of the ASE submarine cable network and further authorizing PLDT to construct the Philippine terminal station thereof in Daet, Province of Camarines Norte. The said provisional authority was valid for 18 months from receipt thereof by PLDT or up to February 28, 2013. PLDT filed an application for extension of its provisional authority on February 12, 2013. On July 05, 2013, the NTC granted PLDT a CPCN for a period of ten years based on its franchise under R.A. 7082.

Digitel

Digitel operates its business pursuant to a number of provisional authorities and CPCNs. Under these CPCNs, Digitel may provide services to: (a) install, operate, maintain and develop telecommunications facilities in Regions I to V; (b) install, operate and maintain telephone systems/networks/services in Quezon City, Valenzuela City and Malabon, Metropolitan Manila and Tarlac; (c) install, operate and maintain an IGF in Binalonan, Pangasinan; (d) install, operate and maintain an IGF in Metropolitan Manila; (e) operate and maintain a National Digital Transmission Network; (f) install, operate, and maintain a nationwide CMTS using GSM and/or CDMA technology; and (g) install, operate and maintain a cable landing station. Digitel was also granted provisional authority to: (a) install, operate and maintain LECs in the National Capital Region; and (b) install, operate and maintain LEC services in Visayas and Mindanao.

Smart

Smart operates its cellular, international long distance and national long distance services pursuant to CPCNs, the terms of which will expire upon the expiration of its franchise. On July 22, 2002, Smart was granted separate CPCNs to operate a CMTS and an IGF. On August 26, 2002, Smart was granted a CPCN to install, operate and maintain nationwide global mobile personal communications via satellite which will also expire upon expiration of its franchise on March 27, 2017. On February 19, 2008, Smart was granted a CPCN to establish, install, maintain, lease and operate an international private leased circuit for a term that is coterminous with the expiration of its franchise. Prior to that, Smart was permitted to engage in these activities pursuant to a provisional authority and timely filed an application for the grant of such CPCN. On September 29, 2009, Smart was granted a provisional authority to install, operate and maintain a nationwide data communications network which was valid for 18 months or up to March 29, 2011. Smart filed a motion for issuance of CPCN or extension of provisional authority on March 3, 2011. Acting on the motion, the NTC issued an Order on June 24, 2011, extending the provisional authority from March 28, 2011 up to but not beyond March 28, 2014. On February 11, 2014, Smart filed a motion for extension with the NTC, which motion remains pending as of April 1, 2014. On May 28, 2010, the NTC issued an order granting the extension of Smart’s provisional authority to construct, install, operate and maintain a nationwide public calling office and payphone service from January 5, 2010 up to January 4, 2013. On January 2, 2013, Smart filed a Motion for Issuance of CPCN and/or extension of provisional authority. Acting on the said motion, the NTC issued an Order dated September 25, 2013, extending the provisional authority from January 4, 2013 up to January 4, 2017.

On December 29, 2005, Smart was awarded a 3G license by the NTC after being ranked the highest among the competing operators with a perfect score on a 30-point grading system designed to gauge the capability of telecommunication operators to effectively provide extensive 3G services. As a result, Smart received the largest radio frequency allocation of 15 MHz as well as first choice of frequency spectrum. Smart chose the 1920-1935 MHz and 2110-2125 MHz spectrums. Smart is required to pay annual license fees of Php115 million based on the 15 MHz of paired spectrum awarded to Smart.

Smart was awarded by the NTC additional frequency band 825-835/870-880 MHz for 3G use on March 6, 2008. Smart was required to pay to NTC the spectrum user fee, or SUF, of Php150 million based on the additional 10 MHz of 3G frequencies.

DMPI

On August 28, 2003, the NTC approved the assignment by Digitel of its authority to construct, install, operate and maintain a nationwide CMTS using GSM and/or CDMA technology to its wholly-owned subsidiary, DMPI. DMPI operates under the trade name Sun Cellular and is also a grantee of a 25-year legislative franchise under R.A. 9180, which will expire on December 11, 2027. DMPI was also awarded a 3G license by the NTC with 10MHz radio frequency allocation.

 

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SBI

On January 8, 2010, the NTC approved the transfer to SBI of PCEV’s CPCN to establish, construct, operate and maintain a nationwide CMTS and PCEV is now an investment holding company. The CPCN for CMTS transferred to SBI had a validity of 15 years from the date of issuance or until August 18, 2012, which was extended for a period coterminous with the life of SBI’s franchise, or July 2022, by order of the NTC on November 8, 2012.

SBI is a grantee of a 25-year legislative franchise under R.A. 8337, which will expire on July 14, 2022, to construct, install, establish, maintain, lease and operate wire and/or wireless telecommunications system throughout the Philippines.

On August 26, 2009, the NTC granted SBI a CPCN for the installation, operation and maintenance of the data leased channel circuit network service for a period coterminous with the life of its existing franchise. SBI is a grantee of a provisional authority for the expansion of its data leased channel circuit network service in several areas in Zamboanga Sibugay, Sultan Kudarat, Southern Leyte, Biliran, Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental, Dinagat Island and Shariff Kabunsuan. The provisional authority is valid for 18 months from September 29, 2009 until March 29, 2011. SBI filed a motion for issuance of CPCN or extension of provisional authority on March 2, 2011. The said motion is still pending resolution by the NTC. SBI is also a grantee of a provisional authority for the installation, operation and maintenance of international leased line service that was valid up to February 2005 and the motion for extension of which remains pending with the NTC as at the date of this annual report.

CURE

CURE is a grantee of a 25-year congressional franchise under R.A. 9130, which will expire on April 24, 2026, to construct, install, establish, maintain, lease and operate wire and/or wireless telecommunications system throughout the Philippines. The NTC granted CURE a provisional authority to install, operate and maintain a nationwide 3G network on January 3, 2006 valid for 18 months, which was subsequently extended for three years from January 4, 2007 until January 3, 2010. On December 3, 2009, CURE filed a motion for the issuance of CPCN or extension of its provisional authority. CURE had also submitted its roll-out plan to the NTC on January 4, 2010. As at the date of this annual report, this motion is still pending with the NTC. The congressional franchise, spectrum and associated permits of CURE are expected to be divested as part of the NTC decision with respect to the Digitel acquisition. See Item 4. “Information on the Company – Development Activities (2011-2013) – Divestment of CURE” for further information.

PDSI

PDSI is a grantee of a 25-year congressional franchise under R.A. 8992 which will expire on January 26, 2026 to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain for commercial purposes and in the public interest, the business of providing basic and enhanced telecommunications services in and between provinces and municipalities in the Philippines and between the Philippines and other countries and territories.

PDSI is a holder of a provisional authority issued by the NTC to construct, install, operate and maintain an information and data communication network in key cities and municipalities in the Philippines on December 22, 2005 with validity of 18 months or until June 22, 2007, which has been successively extended by the NTC thereafter. Most recently, on April 7, 2010, the NTC issued an order dated June 29, 2010 extending the provisional authority of PDSI to another three years or up to June 22, 2013. PDSI filed a Motion for Issuance of CPCN and/or extension of provisional authority on May 6, 2013 which remains pending as at this date. Likewise, PDSI is a registered VAS provider for internet access services and VoIP.

The following table sets forth the spectrum system, licensed frequency and bandwidth used by Smart, Digitel, SBI, CURE and PDSI:

 

Carrier

  

Spectrum System

  

Frequency Assignment

  

Bandwidth

Smart    ETACS/GSM 900    897.5-905/942.5-950 MHz    7.5 MHz
   GSM 1800    1725-1730/1820-1825 MHz    5.0 MHz
      1730-1732.5/1825-1827.5 MHz    2.5 MHz
      1735-1740/1830-1835 MHz    5.0 MHz
      1745-1750/1840-1845 MHz    5.0 MHz
      1780-1782.5/1875-1877.5 MHz    2.5 MHz
   3G (W-CDMA)    1920-1935/2110-2125 MHz    15.0 MHz
      825-835/870-880 MHz    10.0 MHz
Digitel    GSM 1800    1760-1775/1855-1870 MHz    15.0 MHz
      1782.5-1785/1877.5-1880 MHz    2.5 MHz
      1935-1945/2125-2135 MHz    10.0 MHz
      2520-2535 MHz    15.0 MHz
SBI    AMPS/CDMA    824-825/869-870 MHz    1.0 MHz
      845-846.5/890-891.5 MHz    1.5 MHz
   Wireless broadband    2670-2690 MHz(1)    20.0 MHz
      2400-2483.5 MHz(1)    73.0 MHz
      3400-3590 MHz(1)    94.0MHz
      5470-5850 MHz(1)    123.0MHz
CURE    3G    1955-1965/2145-2155 MHz(2)    10.0 MHz
PDSI    BWA (WiMAX)    2332.5-2362.5MHz    30.0 MHz

 

(1) 

SBI frequency assignments on these bands are non-contiguous and are on a per station and location basis.

(2) 

The congressional franchise, spectrum and associated permits of CURE are expected to be divested as part of the NTC decision with respect to the Digitel acquisition. See “— Development Activities (2011-2013) — Divestment of CURE” for further information.

 

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Material Effects of Regulation on our Business

Operators of IGFs and cellular telephone operators, pursuant to E.O. No. 109, are required to install a minimum number of local exchange lines. Of these new lines, operators are required to install one rural exchange line for every ten urban exchange lines installed. Smart and PCEV were required to install 700,000 and 400,000 rural lines, respectively, and each has received a certificate of compliance from the NTC.

PLDT, SubicTel, ClarkTel, Philcom, Smart, Digitel, PCEV, SBI and CURE are required to pay various permits, regulation and supervision fees to the NTC. PLDT was previously engaged in disputes with the NTC over some of the assessed fees.

During the 15th Philippine Congress in 2010, Smart was requested to attend a hearing regarding HB No. 1224 or the Corporate Social Responsibility Act Bill filed by Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Rep. Diosdado Macapagal Arroyo. Aside from this proposed legislation, both the Congress and the Senate of the Philippines have pending bills filed by various legislators concerning Anti-Trust, Competition and the setting up of a Fair Trade Commission. Senate Bill No. 1 introduced by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile seeks to penalize unfair trade and anti-competitive practices in restraint of trade, unfair competition, abuse of dominant power and aims to strengthen the powers of regulatory authorities. The bill penalizes cartelization, monopolization, abuse of monopoly power or dominant position, and other unfair competition practices. The PLDT Group submitted its position paper on the bill on November 11, 2010. Other Senate bills which have been introduced during the 15th Congress on the subject matter are Senate Bill nos. 123, 175 and 1838. The various committee hearings on these Senate bills have already been concluded and the Senate of the Philippines is expected to come out with one final version in substitution of these various Senate Bills any time soon. HB No. 4835, a consolidated bill in substitution of HB Nos. 549, 913, 1007, 1583, 1733, and others, is a similar bill proposed in the House of Representatives, which penalizes anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position, and anti-competitive mergers and establishes a Philippine Fair Competition Commission, or the Commission. Under this proposed bill, the Commission has the power, among others, to commence investigations on transactions, agreements, or acts, that prevent, distort or restrict competition. It is relevant that the bill considers a prima facie case of anti-competitive agreement when two or more firms that are ostensibly competing for the same relevant market and actually perform or complementary acts among themselves which tend to bring about artificial and unreasonable increase, decrease or fixing in the price of any goods or when they simultaneously and unreasonably increase, decrease or fix the prices of their seemingly competing goods thereby lessening competition in the relevant market among themselves. This bill has undergone third reading but to date, no final version has yet been released.

There are also bills introduced in the 15th Congress of the Philippines which seek to regulate interconnection charges by either prescribing lower rates or potentially prohibiting interconnection charges. Some of them are HB No. 4939 of Representative Winston Castelo, HB No. 4598 of Representative Joseph Violago and HB No. 2858 of Representatives Rufus B. Rodriguez and Maximo B. Rodriguez. Committee hearings on these bills are ongoing.

The NTC has issued a number of directives that regulate the manner in which we conduct our business:

 

   

On July 3, 2009, the NTC issued Memorandum Circular No. 03-07-2009, imposing an extension of the expiration of the prepaid loads from two months to various expiration periods ranging from three days to 120 days. Smart and DMPI have been implementing the new validity period of prepaid loads since July 19, 2009.

 

   

On July 7, 2009, the NTC amended its rules on broadcast messaging in Memorandum Circular No. 04-07-2009, which prohibits content and/or information providers from initiating push messages. It further requires that requests for services must be initiated by the subscribers and not forced upon them by the public telecommunications entities and/or content providers. It further mandates that subscribers be sent a notification when they subscribe for any service and be given an option whether to continue with the availed service.

 

   

On July 23, 2009, the NTC issued Memorandum Circular No. 05-07-2009 mandating cellular operators, including Smart, to charge calls on a maximum six-second per pulse basis instead of the previous per minute basis whether the subscriber is prepaid or postpaid. The NTC granted Smart the provisional authority to charge new rates and implement six-second per pulse scheme on December 5, 2009. Smart subsequently implemented the six-second per pulse directive by billing on a six-second per pulse basis, if subscribers entered additional dialing numbers as a prefix before the actual number. The NTC opposed Smart’s implementation of the six-second per pulse directive. In December 2009, Smart and other CMTS providers challenged the implementation of the NTC memorandum circular before the Court of Appeals, which issued a writ of preliminary injunction preventing the NTC from implementing its six-second per pulse billing directive. On December 28, 2010, the Court of Appeals promulgated a decision finding that the NTC had no basis to impose the rates it fixed for the six-second per pulse and that the CMTS operators have the option to file their rate applications anew. However, the Court ruled also that under the NTC memorandum circular, the six-second per pulse is the default mode and that the NTC has the power to regulate the rates of CMTS providers under Section 17 of R.A. 7925, even in the absence of ruinous competition, monopoly, cartel or combination thereof in restraint of free competition. The NTC, through the Office of the Solicitor General filed a motion for partial reconsideration of the decision which Smart opposed. Smart and the other petitioners, except DMPI, likewise filed separate motions for partial reconsideration. The Court of Appeals denied all motions for reconsideration on January 19, 2012. Smart and CURE filed their petitions for review with the Supreme Court on March 15, 2012 and March 12, 2012, respectively. The six-second per pulse billing scheme is expected to have a negative impact on Smart’s revenue, profit and ARPU as this is expected to decrease the amount of time billed per call as a result of moving to shorter billing intervals of six seconds from the previous one minute.

 

   

On February 18, 2011, the NTC issued Memorandum Circular No. 01-02-2011 which among others required mobile phone providers like Smart and DMPI to make internet access through mobile phones optional; inform their subscribers of charges for internet access through mobile phones; and remind subscribers through SMS if at least 50% of credit limit has already been consumed.

 

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On October 24, 2011, the NTC issued Memorandum Circular No. 02-10-2011 which mandates that interconnection charge for SMS between two separate networks shall not be higher than Php0.15 per SMS. Accordingly, Smart amended its interconnection amendments with other SMS providers in compliance with the circular. However, the NTC issued a show cause order dated December 12, 2011 requiring it to explain in writing within 15 days from receipt of the order why it has not lowered SMS retail rates despite the issuance of Memorandum Circular No. 02-10-2011. Smart and DMPI filed their answers on January 12, 2012, arguing, among others, that the circular does not mandate the reduction of SMS retail rates and that the NTC has no power to impose rates on mobile operators.

 

   

On July 15, 2011, the NTC issued Memorandum Circular No. 7-7-2011 which required broadband service providers to specify the minimum broadband/internet connection speed and service reliability and the service rates in advertisements, flyers, brochures and service agreements. The said Memorandum Circular also set the minimum service reliability of broadband service to 80%.

 

   

On December 19, 2011, the NTC issued a decision lowering the interconnection charge to/from LEC and to/from CMTS to Php2.50 per minute, from Php4.00 per minute for LEC to CMTS and Php3.00 per minute from CMTS to LEC, making it in parity with each other. PLDT and Smart separately filed their respective motions for reconsideration alleging among others that interconnection, including the rates thereof, should be by law a product of bilateral negotiations between the parties and the decision was unconstitutional as an invalid exercise by the NTC of its quasi-legislative powers and violates the constitutional guarantee against non-impairment of contracts. PLDT and Smart’s petitions remain pending with the Court of Appeals. Meantime, the PAPTELCO has filed a motion for the execution of the NTC decision before the NTC, which motion, likewise, remains pending.

See Item 3. “Key Information – Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Us – Our business is significantly affected by governmental laws and regulations, including regulations in respect of our franchises, rates and taxes, and laws relating to anti-competitive practices and monopoly” for further discussion.

In order to diversify the ownership base of public utilities, the Public Telecommunications Policy Act R.A. 7925, requires a telecommunications entity with regulated types of services to make a public offering through the stock exchanges representing at least 30% of its aggregate common shares within a period of five years from: (a) the date the law became effective; or (b) the entity’s first start of commercial operations, whichever date is later. PLDT and PCEV have complied with this requirement. However, Smart and DMPI have not conducted a public offering of its shares. If Smart and DMPI are found to be in violation of R.A. 7925, this could result in the revocation of the franchises of Smart and DMPI and in the filing of a quo warranto case against Smart and DMPI by the Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines. See Item 3. “Key Information – Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Us – The franchise of Smart and DMPI may be revoked due to their failure to conduct a public offering of their shares” for further discussion.

On April 14, 2009, the NTC released the implementing guidelines on developing reference access offers, which are statements of the prices, terms and conditions under which a telecommunications carrier proposes to provide access to its network or facilities to another such carrier or value-added service provider.

Competition

Including us, there are three major LECs, eight major IGF providers and two major cellular operators in the Philippines. Some new entrants into the Philippine telecommunications market have entered into strategic alliances with foreign telecommunications companies, which provide them access to technological and funding support as well as service innovations and marketing strategies. However, barriers to entry are quite high given the amount of investment needed to be made by new entrants in order to match the infrastructure of the existing operators.

Cellular Service

There are presently only two major cellular operators, namely us and Globe, following our acquisition of the Digitel Group in October 2011. Cellular market penetration in the Philippines is in excess of 100% based on SIM ownership.

Competition in the cellular telecommunications industry has intensified starting the middle of 2010 with greater availability of unlimited offers from the telecommunications operators resulting in increased volumes of calls and texts but declining yields. Even after PLDT’s acquisition of the Digitel Group in the last quarter of 2011, Globe continued to compete aggressively to gain revenue market share, albeit on a more regional/localized basis. Competition also increased in the postpaid space with more aggressive promotions involving greater handset subsidies. The principal bases of competition are price, including handset prices in the case of postpaid plans, quality of service, network reliability, geographic coverage and attractiveness of packaged services. Smart was able to defend and stabilize its revenue market share in 2013 by matching Globe’s offers and by highlighting the quality of Smart’s network.

As at December 31, 2013, our network leads the industry in terms of coverage with 20,770 cellular/mobile broadband base stations, and 2,915 fixed wireless broadband base stations, of which 10,000 are 4G-capable.

Today, competition remains intense but appears to have stabilized.

As a result of competitive pressures, service providers, including Smart, have introduced “bucket” plans providing unlimited voice and text services, and other promotions. While most of the “bucket” priced plans currently available in the market are being offered on promotional bases, Smart, Globe and Sun Cellular continue to launch other services that are designed to encourage incremental usage from existing subscribers and also to attract new subscribers.

 

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Cellular operators also compete actively in launching innovative products and VAS. The growing range of cellular products and services include not only text messaging but also multi-media messaging, voice mail, text mail, international roaming, information-on-demand, mobile banking, e-commerce, mobile data, cellular internet access and internet messaging.

On February 14, 2006, Smart opened its 3G network in selected key cities nationwide, making video calling, video streaming, high speed internet browsing and special 3G content downloads on its 3G network available to subscribers with 3G handsets. In May 2008, DMPI started to operate its 3G network. Likewise, Globe has been rolling out its 3G network. At the end of December 31, 2013, the PLDT Group’s 3G network had achieved about 71% population coverage.

Consistent with industry practice and Smart’s churn management efforts, Smart “locks” the handsets it sells to its subscribers, rendering them incompatible with SIM cards issued by competitors and thereby hindering them from swapping the existing SIM for a SIM of a competing operator. However, subscribers can have their handsets “unlocked” by unauthorized parties for a nominal fee and purchase new SIM cards from competing operators. “Unlocking” does not involve significant cost to the subscribers. Switching to another cellular operator would, however, result in a change of the subscriber’s cellular telephone number.

In order to avail themselves of promotions and cost efficient network-to-network calling rates, cellular subscribers in the Philippines have increasingly been subscribing to the services of multiple wireless operators. As a result, the increases in 2013, 2012 and 2011 in our cellular subscriber base and the penetration rate of the wireless market in the Philippines were primarily attributable to such “multiple SIM card ownership.”

Local Exchange Service

The concerted nationwide local exchange line build-out by various providers, as mandated by the Philippine government, significantly increased the number of fixed line subscribers in the country and resulted in wider access to basic telephone service. The growth of the fixed line market, however, remained weak due to the surge in demand for cellular services and, in the past, the general sluggishness of the Philippine economy. Nevertheless, we have sustained our leading position in the fixed line market on account of PLDT’s extensive network in key cities nationwide. In most areas, we face one or two competitors. Our principal competitors in the local exchange market are Bayan and Globe-Innove, which provide local exchange service through both fixed and fixed wireless landline services.

There are currently three major fixed wireless landline services in the market that resemble a cellular phone service but provide the same tariff structure as a fixed line service such as the charging of monthly service fees. The earliest of such service was provided by Digitel, now part of PLDT, in the fourth quarter of 2005 at a fixed monthly rate of Php672. This service is provided mostly in selected areas of Southern and Northern Luzon where Digitel did not have fixed cable facilities. Globe quickly followed suit with a similar service at a monthly rate of Php995 which bundled a wireless landline and broadband internet connection of up to 384 kbps. This service is offered in limited areas of Metropolitan Manila such as Makati, Las Piñas, the Visayas region and selected areas of Southern Luzon such as Cavite and Batangas.

Bayan launched a similar service at lower rates in the second half of 2006, which service maintains two major price points open to both residential and business subscribers. This service is available under two plans, a plan at a monthly rate of Php699 for customers in Metropolitan Manila and a plan at a monthly rate of Php599 for customers in selected regional areas of the Philippines.

In March 2007, we introduced the PLP, a postpaid fixed wireless service which was initially available only in regional areas where there were no available PLDT fixed cable facilities. There are two plans being offered for the PLP postpaid regular service: (a) Plan 600 with 600 free local outgoing minutes; and (b) Plan 1,000 with 1,000 free local outgoing minutes, and a charge of Php1 per minute in excess of free minutes for both plans. In March 2008, we introduced the prepaid variant of the PLP. There are two load plans being offered for the PLP prepaid service: (a) Php300 load denomination with free 150 local outgoing minutes; and (b) Php600 load denomination with free 600 local outgoing minutes. Both prepaid plans include unlimited incoming calls for one month, and charges Php2 per minute and Php1 per minute in excess of free local outgoing minutes for Php300 and Php600 load denominations, respectively.

Currently, the two PLP postpaid regular services (Plan 600 and Plan 1,000) are both offered with unlimited local outgoing calls. Both plans can be structured with either (i) Php300 load denomination with free 600 local outgoing minutes and unlimited incoming calls for one month; or (ii) Php150 load denomination with free 250 local outgoing minutes and unlimited incoming calls valid only for 15 days. Both prepaid plans charge Php2 per call in excess of free local outgoing minutes.

International Long Distance Service

There are 11 licensed IGF operators, of which eight are major operators, in the country, including us. While we still maintain a leadership position in this highly competitive service segment of the industry, our market share in recent years has declined as a result of: (1) competition from other IGF operators; (2) migration from fixed to mobile calling, coupled with continued increase in the number of cellular subscribers; and (3) the popularity of alternative and cheaper modes of communication such as social-networking, text messaging, e-mail, internet telephony and the establishment of virtual private networks for several corporate entities, further heightening the competition.

With respect to outbound calls from the Philippines, we compete for market share through our local exchange and cellular businesses, which are the origination points of outbound international calls. We also have introduced a number of marketing initiatives to stimulate growth of outbound call volumes, including tariff reductions and volume discounts for large corporate subscribers.

 

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With respect to inbound calls into the Philippines, we have been pursuing a number of initiatives to mitigate the decline in our inbound telecommunications traffic, including modest reduction of our termination rates and identifying and limiting unauthorized traffic termination. In addition, we have also established presence, through our wholly-owned subsidiary PLDT Global, in key cities overseas to identify and capture Philippine terminating traffic at its source, maximize the use of our international facilities and develop alternative sources of revenue.

National Long Distance Service

Our national long distance service business has been negatively affected by the growing number of cellular subscribers in the Philippines and the widespread availability and growing popularity of alternative economical non-voice methods of communication, particularly text messaging and e-mail. In addition, various Internet Service Providers have launched voice services via the internet to their subscribers nationwide.

While national long distance call volumes have been declining, we have remained the leading provider of national long distance service in the Philippines due to our significant subscriber base and ownership of the Philippines’ most extensive transmission network.

PLDT launches from time to time promotions bundled with our other products to attract new subscribers including free PLDT-to-PLDT NDD service.

Data and Other Network Services

The market for data and other network services is a growing segment in the Philippine telecommunications industry. This development has been spurred by the significant growth in consumer and retail broadband internet access, enterprise resource planning applications, customer relationship management, knowledge processing solutions, online gaming and other e-services that drive the need for broadband and internet-protocol based solutions both in the Philippines and abroad. Our major competitors in this area are Globe-Innove and Bayan. The principal bases of competition in the data services market are coverage, price, content, value for money, bundles or free gifts, customer service and quality of service. PLDT’s intends to compete in this segment, consistent with its overall strategy to broaden its distribution platform and increase its ability to deliver multimedia content.

Environmental Matters

We have not been subject to any material fines or legal or regulatory action involving noncompliance with environmental regulations of the Philippines. We are not aware of any noncompliance in any material respect with relevant environmental protection regulations.

Intellectual Property Rights

We do not own any material intellectual property rights apart from our brand names and logos. We are not dependent on patents, licenses or other intellectual property which are material to our business or results of operations, other than licenses to use the software that accompany most of our equipment purchases and licenses for certain contents used in VAS of our wireless business. See Note 14 – Intangible Assets to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

Properties

We own four office buildings located in Makati City and own and operate 481 exchanges nationwide, of which 58 are located in the Metropolitan Manila area, including DMPI’s 10 exchanges. The remaining 423 exchanges, including DMPI’s 198 exchanges, are located in cities and small municipalities outside Metropolitan Manila area. We also own radio transmitting and receiving equipment used for international and domestic communications. As at December 31, 2013, we had 10,455 cell sites, 20,770 cellular/mobile broadband base stations and 2,915 fixed wireless broadband base stations, of which 10,000 are 4G-capable.

As at December 31, 2013, our principal properties, excluding property under construction, consisted of the following, based on net book values:

 

   

71% consisted of cable, wire and cellular facilities, including our DFON, subscriber cable facilities, inter-office trunking and toll cable facilities and cellular facilities;

 

   

14% consisted of central office equipment, including IGFs, pure national toll exchanges and combined local and toll exchanges;

 

   

9% consisted of land and improvements and buildings, which we acquired to house our telecommunications equipment, personnel, inventory and/or fleet;

 

   

1% consisted of information origination and termination equipment, including pay telephones and radio equipment installed for customers use, and cables and wires installed within customers’ premises; and

 

   

5% consisted of other work equipment.

For more information on these properties, see Note 9 – Property, Plant and Equipment to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

These properties are located in areas where our subscribers are being served. In our opinion, these properties are in good condition, except for ordinary wear and tear, and are adequately insured.

 

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The majority of our connecting lines are above or under public streets and properties owned by others. For example, for many years, the PLDT Group has been using the power pole network of Meralco in Metropolitan Manila for PLDT’s fixed line aerial cables in this area pursuant to short-term lease agreements with Meralco with typically five-year and more recently one-year terms.

PLDT’s, Smart’s, PCEV’s and Digitel’s properties are free from any mortgage, charge, pledge, lien or encumbrance; however, a portion of ePLDT’s property is subject to liens.

The PLDT Group has various lease contracts for periods ranging from one to ten years covering certain offices, warehouses, cell sites, telecommunications equipment locations and various office equipments. For more information on the obligations relating to these properties and long-term obligations, see Note 27 – Financial Assets and Liabilities to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

In 2014, we expect that cash from operations should enable us to increase the level of our capital expenditures for the continued expansion and upgrading of our network infrastructure. We expect to make additional investments in our core facilities to leverage existing technologies and increase capacity to accommodate expected continued increases in call and text volumes as a result of unlimited voice and text offerings and other promotions. Our 2014 estimated consolidated capital expenditures is approximately Php32 billion, of which approximately Php17 billion is estimated to be spent by Smart; approximately Php12 billion is estimated to be spent by PLDT; approximately Php1 billion is estimated to be spent by DMPI; and the balance represents the estimated capital spending of our other subsidiaries. Smart’s capital spending is focused on building out its coverage, leveraging the capabilities of its newly modernized network, expanding its transmission network, increasing international bandwidth capacity and expanding its 3G and wireless broadband networks in order to enhance its data /broadband capabilities. Smart is also enhancing its network and platforms infrastructure and systems to support service delivery to enable customized and targeted services. PLDT’s capital spending is intended principally to finance the continued build-out and upgrade of its broadband data and IP infrastructures, its fixed line data services and the maintenance of its network. DMPI’s capital spending is intended principally to finance its mainstream services and integration with the PLDT Group network of its core and transmission network to increase penetration, mainly in provincial areas to achieve greater business benefits from a closely synergized environment.

 

Item 4A. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

 

Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements (and the related notes) as at December 31, 2013 and 2012 and for the three years in the period ended December 31, 2013 included elsewhere in this report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current views with respect to future events and our future financial performance. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of particular factors such as those set forth under “Forward-Looking Statements” and Item 3. “Key Information – Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report. Our consolidated financial statements, and the financial information discussed below, have been prepared in accordance with IFRS. For convenience, certain Philippine peso financial information in the following discussions has been converted to U.S. dollars at the exchange rate at December 31, 2013 of Php44.40 to US$1.00, as quoted through the Philippine Dealing System.

Overview

We are the largest and most diversified telecommunications company in the Philippines. We have organized our business into business units based on our products and services and have three reportable operating segments which serve as bases for management’s decision to allocate resources and evaluate operating performance:

 

   

Wireless — wireless telecommunications services provided by Smart and DMPI, which owns the Sun Cellular business and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digitel, our cellular service providers; SBI and PDSI, our wireless broadband service providers; Chikka Group, our wireless content operators; and ACeS Philippines, our satellite operator;

 

   

Fixed Line — fixed line telecommunications services primarily provided by PLDT. We also provide fixed line services through PLDT’s subsidiaries, namely, ClarkTel, SubicTel, Philcom Group, Maratel, SBI, PDSI, BCC, PLDT Global and Digitel, all of which together account for approximately 8% of our consolidated fixed line subscribers; and information and communications infrastructure and services for internet applications, internet protocol, or IP-based solutions and multimedia content delivery provided by ePLDT, IPCDSI, AGS, and its subsidiaries, or AGS Group, and Curo Teknika, Inc.; and bills printing and other VAS-related services provided by ePDS, Inc., or ePDS; and

 

   

Others — PGIH, PGIC and PCEV, our investment companies.

Key performance indicators and drivers that our management uses for the management of our business include, among others, the general economic conditions in the Philippines, our subscriber base, traffic volumes, and interconnection arrangements.

In addition, our results of operations and financial position are increasingly affected by fluctuations of the Philippine peso against the U.S. dollar. Since a substantial portion of our indebtedness is denominated in U.S. dollars, a depreciation or appreciation of the Philippine peso against the U.S. dollar as at the end of the most recent fiscal year compared to the end of the previous fiscal year may result in our recognition of significant foreign exchange losses or gains, respectively. For example, the Philippine peso depreciated against the U.S. dollar from Php41.08 as at December 31, 2012 to Php44.40 as at December 31, 2013, as a result of which we recognized in 2013 foreign exchange losses in the amount of Php2,893 million, representing a decrease of Php6,175 million as against foreign exchange gains in the amount of

 

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Php3,282 million in 2012. Moreover, since approximately 21% of our revenues are either denominated in U.S. dollars or linked to the U.S. dollar, a depreciation or appreciation of the weighted average exchange rate of the Philippine peso against the U.S. dollar increases or decreases our revenues in Philippine peso terms and increases or decreases our cash flow from operations, respectively. For example, the depreciation of the Philippine peso relative to the U.S. dollar to a weighted average exchange rate of Php44.24 in 2013 from Php42.24 in 2012 increased our U.S. dollar and U.S. dollar-linked revenues in Philippine peso terms. Furthermore, fluctuations of the Philippine peso against the U.S. dollar resulted in gains or losses on our derivative financial instruments, which increasingly affected our results of operations and financial position. For example, we recognized net gains on derivative financial instruments of Php511 million in 2013 from net losses on derivative financial instruments of Php2,009 million in 2012.

On October 26, 2011, we completed the acquisition of the Digitel Group. Our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011 include the financial results of the Digitel Group for the period from October 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011. Our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 include the full year financial results of the Digitel Group for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012. As a result, this may make it difficult to compare our past results of operations and financial position or to estimate our consolidated performance in the future.

On December 4, 2012, our Board of Directors authorized the sale of our BPO segment, which was completed in April 2013. Consequently, the BPO segment as at December 31, 2012 and 2011 has been classified as discontinued operations and a disposal group held-for-sale. See Item 4. “Information on the Company – Development Activities (2011-2013) – Sale of BPO Segment”, Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Discontinued Operations and Note 3 – Management’s Use of Accounting Judgments, Estimates and Assumptions – Assets Held-for-Sale and Discontinued Operations to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion of the classification of the BPO segment as an asset classified as held-for-sale.

Management’s Financial Review

As discussed in Item 3. “Key Information – Performance Indicators”, we use our Adjusted EBITDA and core income to assess our operating performance; a reconciliation of our consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and our consolidated core income to our consolidated net income for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011 is set forth below.

The following table shows the reconciliation of our consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to our consolidated net income for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:

 

     December 31,  
     2013     2012(1)     2011(1, 2)  
     (in millions)  

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations

     77,552        75,388        78,225   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Add (deduct) adjustments to continuing operations:

      

Other income

     4,113        5,813        2,626   

Equity share in net earnings of associates and joint ventures

     2,742        1,538        2,035   

Interest income

     932        1,354        1,357   

Gains (losses) on derivative financial instruments – net

     511        (2,009     201   

Amortization of intangible assets

     (1,020     (921     (117

Retroactive effect of adoption of Revised IAS 19(2)

     (1,269     1,287        —     

Asset impairment

     (2,143     (2,896     (8,514

Foreign exchange gains (losses) – net

     (2,893     3,282        (735

Financing costs – net

     (6,589     (6,876     (6,454

Provision for income tax

     (8,248     (8,050     (10,734

Depreciation and amortization

     (30,304     (32,354     (27,539
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total adjustments

     (44,168     (39,832     (47,874
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income from continuing operations

     33,384        35,556        30,351   

Net income from discontinued operations

     2,069        543        867   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Consolidated net income

     35,453        36,099        31,218   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) 

As adjusted to reflect the adjustments on the application of the Revised IAS 19 – Employee Benefits. See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Changes in Accounting Policies and Disclosures to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion.

(2) 

Includes the Digitel Group’s Adjusted EBITDA for the period from October 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

 

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The following table shows the reconciliation of our consolidated core income to our consolidated net income for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:

 

     December 31,  
     2013     2012(1)     2011(1, 2)  
           (in millions)  

Core income from continuing operations

     38,816        36,356        37,827   

Core income from discontinued operations

     (99     551        789   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Consolidated core income

     38,717        36,907        38,616   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Add (deduct) adjustments to continuing operations:

      

Gains (losses) on derivative financial instruments – net, excluding hedge cost

     816        (1,689     564   

Core income adjustment on equity share in net earnings (losses) of associates and joint ventures

     59        (91     (476

Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests

     33        (49     (60

Casualty losses due to Typhoon Yolanda

     (878     —          —     

Retroactive effect of adoption of Revised IAS 19(2)

     (1,269     1,287        —     

Asset impairment on noncurrent assets

     (2,143     (2,896     (8,514

Foreign exchange gains (losses) – net

     (2,893     3,282        (741

Net tax effect of aforementioned adjustments

     843        (644     1,608   

Others

     —          —          143   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total adjustments

     (5,432     (800     (7,476
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjustment to discontinued operations

     2,168        (8     78   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income from continuing operations

     33,384        35,556        30,351   

Net income from discontinued operations

     2,069        543        867   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Consolidated net income

     35,453        36,099        31,218   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) 

As adjusted to reflect the adjustments on the application of the Revised IAS 19 – Employee Benefits. See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Changes in Accounting Policies and Disclosures to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements” for further discussion.

(2) 

Includes the Digitel Group’s core income for the period from October 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

The following table shows the reconciliation of our consolidated basic and diluted core EPS to our consolidated basic and diluted EPS attributable to common equity holders of PLDT for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:

 

     2013     2012(1)     2011(1, 2)  
     Basic     Diluted     Basic     Diluted     Basic     Diluted  

Core EPS from continuing operations

     179.38        179.38        168.03        168.03        195.27        195.10   

Core EPS from discontinued operations

     (0.45     (0.45     2.55        2.55        4.12        4.12   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Consolidated core EPS

     178.93        178.93        170.58        170.58        199.39        199.22   

Add (deduct) adjustments to continuing operations:

            

Gains (losses) on derivative financial instruments – net,

     2.65        2.65        (5.47     (5.47     2.06        2.06   

Core income adjustment on equity share in net earnings (losses) of associates and joint

     0.27        0.27        (0.42     (0.42     (2.48     (2.48

Casualty losses due to typhoon “Yolanda”

     (3.58     (3.58     —          —          —          —     

Retroactive effect of adoption of Revised IAS 19 (Note 2)

     (5.10     (5.10     5.18        5.18        —          —     

Foreign exchange gains (losses) – net (Notes 2, 9 and 27)

     (9.61     (9.61     10.63        10.63        (2.68     (2.67

Asset impairment (Notes 3, 5 and 9)

     (9.92     (9.92     (13.40     (13.40     (36.47     (36.44

Gain on disposal of investment and others

     —          —          —          —          0.82        0.82   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total adjustments

     (25.29     (25.29     (3.48     (3.48     (38.75     (38.71
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjustments to discontinued operations

     10.03        10.03        (0.03     (0.03     0.41        0.40   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

EPS from continuing operations attributable to common equity holders of PLDT (Note 8)

     154.09        154.09        164.55        164.55        156.52        156.39   

EPS from discontinued operations attributable to common equity holders of PLDT

     9.58        9.58        2.52        2.52        4.53        4.52   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Consolidated EPS attributable to common equity holders of PLDT

     163.67        163.67        167.07        167.07        161.05        160.91   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) 

As adjusted to reflect the adjustments on the application of the Revised IAS 19. See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Changes in Accounting Policies and Disclosures for further discussion.

(2) 

Includes the Digitel Group’s core income for the period from October 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

Critical Accounting Policies

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires us to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of our revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent liabilities at the end of each reporting period. The uncertainties inherent in these assumptions and estimates could result in outcomes that could require a material adjustment to the carrying amount of the assets or liabilities affected in the future years.

Judgments

In the process of applying the PLDT Group’s accounting policies, management has made the following judgments, apart from those including estimations and assumptions, which have the most significant effect on the amounts recognized in our consolidated financial statements.

 

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Assets classified as held-for-sale and discontinued operations

On December 4, 2012, our Board of Directors authorized the sale of our BPO segment, which sale was completed in April 2013. Consequently, the BPO segment as at December 31, 2012 has been classified as discontinued operations and a disposal group held-for-sale. The BPO segment met the criteria of an asset to be classified as held-for-sale as at December 31, 2012 for the following reasons: (1) the BPO segment was then available for immediate sale and could be sold to a potential buyer in its current condition; (2) the Board of Directors had approved the plan to sell the BPO segment and we had entered into preliminary negotiations with a potential buyer, and a number of other potential buyers had been identified; and (3) the Board of Directors expected negotiations to be finalized and the sale to be completed in April 2013. The results of operations of our BPO business for the four months ended April 30, 2013 and for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 were presented as discontinued operations. See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Discontinued Operations to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

On July 10, 2012, ePLDT entered into a Share Purchase Agreement with Philweb for the sale of 398 million common shares of Philweb, representing ePLDT’s 27% equity interest in Philweb. The sale of the 398 million common shares was executed in four tranches, and was completed by December 2013. Thus, the investment in Philweb was classified as assets held-for-sale as at December 31, 2012. See Note 10 – Investments in Associates, Joint Ventures and Deposits – Investment in Philweb and Note 27 – Financial Assets and Liabilities – ePLDT Group to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

Determination of functional currency

The functional currencies of the entities under the PLDT Group are the currency of the primary economic environment in which each entity operates. It is the currency that mainly influences the revenue from and cost of rendering products and services.

The presentation currency of the PLDT Group is the Philippine peso. Based on the economic substance of the underlying circumstances relevant to the PLDT Group, the functional currency of all entities under PLDT Group is the Philippine peso, except for: (a) SMHC, SMI, FECL Group, Piltel International Holdings Corporation, PLDT Global and certain of its subsidiaries, PGNL, DCPL, and certain subsidiaries of Chikka, which use the U.S. dollar; (b) SHPL, TPL, 3rd Brand, CPL, CITP Singapore Pte. Ltd., and BayanTrade Singapore Pte. Ltd., which use the Singapore dollar; (c) CCCBL, which use the Chinese renminbi; (d) BayanTrade (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd., which use Malaysian ringgit; and (e) PT Columbus IT Indonesia, which use the Indonesian rupiah.

Leases

As a lessee, we have various lease agreements in respect of certain equipment and properties. We evaluate whether significant risks and rewards of ownership of the leased properties are transferred to us (finance lease) or retained by the lessor (operating lease) based on IAS 17, Leases. Total lease expense arising from operating leases from continuing operations amounted to Php6,041 million, Php5,860 million and Php3,938 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, while that from discontinued operations amounted to Php86 million, Php263 million and Php224 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Total finance lease obligations from continuing operations amounted to Php11 million, Php18 million and Php14 million as at December 31, 2013 and 2012, and January 1, 2012, respectively, while that from discontinued operations amounted to Php7 million as at December 31, 2012. See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Discontinued Operations, Note 20 – Interest-bearing Financial Liabilities – Obligations under Finance Leases and Note 27 – Financial Assets and Liabilities – Liquidity Risk to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

Accounting for investments in MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., or MediaQuest, through Philippine Depositary Receipts, or PDRs

ePLDT made various investments in PDRs issued by MediaQuest in relation to its direct interest in Satventures, Inc., or Satventures, and indirect interest in Cignal TV. Satventures is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MediaQuest and Cignal TV is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Satventures. ePLDT’s investments in PDRs are part of our overall strategy to broaden our distribution platform and increase our ability to deliver multi-media content. On September 27, 2013, the Satventures and Cignal TV PDRs were issued and provided ePLDT a 40% economic interest each in the common shares of Satventures and Cignal TV, or an aggregate of 64% economic interest in Cignal TV.

Based on our judgment, ePLDT’s investments in PDRs give ePLDT a significant influence over Satventures and Cignal TV as evidenced by inter-change of managerial personnel, provision of essential technical information and material transactions among PLDT, Smart, Satventures and Cignal TV, thus accounted for as investments in associates using the equity method.

The carrying value of our investments in PDRs issued by MediaQuest amounted to Php9,522 million as at December 31, 2013. See related discussion on Note 10 – Investment in Associates, Joint Ventures and Deposits – Investment in MediaQuest to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

Estimates and Assumptions

The key estimates and assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the end of the reporting period that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities recognized in the consolidated financial statements within the next financial year are discussed below. We based our estimates and assumptions on parameters available when the consolidated financial statements were prepared. Existing circumstances and assumptions about future developments, however, may change due to market changes or circumstances arising beyond the control of PLDT. Such changes are reflected in the assumptions when they occur.

 

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Asset impairment

IFRS requires that an impairment review be performed when certain impairment indicators are present. In the case of goodwill, at a minimum, such asset is subject to an annual impairment test and more frequently whenever there is an indication that such asset may be impaired. This requires an estimation of the value in use of the CGUs to which the goodwill is allocated. Estimating the value in use requires us to make an estimate of the expected future cash flows from the CGU and to choose a suitable discount rate in order to calculate the present value of those cash flows.

Determining the recoverable amount of property, plant and equipment, investments in associates and joint ventures, intangible assets and other noncurrent assets, requires us to make estimates and assumptions in the determination of future cash flows expected to be generated from the continued use and ultimate disposition of such assets. Future events could cause us to conclude that property, plant and equipment, investments in associates and joint ventures, intangible assets and other noncurrent assets associated with an acquired business are impaired. Any resulting impairment loss could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and financial performance.

The preparation of estimated future cash flows involves significant estimations and assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are appropriate and reasonable, significant changes in our assumptions may materially affect our assessment of recoverable values and may lead to future additional impairment charges under IFRS.

In December 2011, Smart recognized full impairment provision of Php8,457 million for certain network equipment and facilities which no longer efficiently support our network modernization program, which was discussed and approved by Smart’s Board of Directors on February 28, 2011 and have been identified for replacement. The full impairment provision recognized represents the net book value of these network equipment and facilities.

In December 2012, DMPI recognized an impairment loss of Php2,881 million pertaining to the net book values of certain identified network equipment and facilities that are affected by the unified wireless strategy as the overall business of DMPI became anchored on PLDT’s wireless business unit, Smart. The network modernization program resulted in network impairment of DMPI due to advancement in technologies.

In 2013, Smart and DMPI launched a network convergence program designed to consolidate the networks of Smart and DMPI into a single network enabling subscribers of both companies to take advantage of the combined network. The convergence is expected to result in savings from synergies in terms of optimized capital expenditures and cost efficiencies from co-location of base stations, consolidation of core systems, and operating expenses. The program, however, rendered certain network equipment and site facilities obsolete. In view of this, Smart and DMPI recognized full impairment provision on the net book value of the affected network equipment and site facilities amounting to Php378 million and Php1,764 million, respectively.

See Note 5 – Income and Expenses – Asset Impairment and Note 9 – Property, Plant and Equipment – Impairment of Certain Wireless Network Equipment and Facilities to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

Total asset impairment on noncurrent assets from continuing operations amounted Php2,143 million, Php2,896 million and Php8,514 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, while that from discontinued operations amounted to nil for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 and Php3 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Discontinued Operations, Note 4 – Operating Segment Information, Note 5 – Income and Expenses – Asset Impairment and Note 9 – Property, Plant and Equipment to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

The carrying values of our property, plant and equipment, investments in associates, joint ventures and deposits, goodwill and intangible assets, and prepayments are separately disclosed in Notes 9, 10, 14 and 18, respectively, to the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements in Item 18. “Financial Statements”.

Estimating useful lives of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets with finite life

We estimate the useful lives of each item of our property, plant and equipment and intangible assets with finite life based on the periods over which our assets are expected to be available for use. Our estimate of the useful lives of our property, plant and equipment and intangible assets with finite life is based on our collective assessment of industry practice, internal technical evaluation and experience with similar assets. The estimated useful lives of our property, plant and equipment and intangible assets with finite life are reviewed every year-end and are updated if expectations differ from previous estimates due to physical wear and tear, technical or commercial obsolescence and legal or other limitations on the use of our assets. It is possible, however, that future results of operations could be materially affected by changes in our estimates brought about by changes in the factors mentioned above. The amounts and timing of recorded expenses for any period would be affected by changes in these factors and circumstances. A reduction in the estimated useful lives of our property, plant and equipment and intangible assets with finite life would increase our recorded depreciation and amortization and decrease our property, plant and equipment and intangible assets.