Fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. is keeping its full-year revenue growth target of 4% to 6% despite an 11.9% drop in third-quarter attributable net income, saying sustained demand for data services will continue to support growth.

“We are not adjusting yet. We looked at the BSP’s (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) consumer expectations survey and also there’s big improvement in our third quarter (results),” Converge Chief Finance Officer Robert Leo A. Yu said at a media briefing on Monday.

Converge posted attributable net income of P2.60 billion in the third quarter, down 11.9% from P2.95 billion in the same period last year, as expenses grew faster than revenues. Revenues for the three months ended September rose 5.5% to P11.80 billion from P11.19 billion a year earlier, while expenses increased 10.9% to P8.14 billion from P7.34 billion. In effect, the company earned more but kept less of it: expenses consumed roughly 69% of quarterly revenues, up from about 66% a year earlier.

“The forward-looking estimates from the BSP have also been quite positive. We are cautiously optimistic. We do monitor prices, whether there’s potential for price increases on their side. So, we do monitor these things very closely,” Mr. Yu said.

The listed company had earlier lowered its 2026 revenue growth guidance to 4% to 6% from 8% to 10%, citing slower revenue growth and economic uncertainty. The CFO’s “not adjusting yet” framing implies the target remains under review, with BSP survey readings and pricing developments among the inputs management is monitoring.

Nine-Month Performance

For the first nine months of the year, Converge’s net income fell about 9% to P8.09 billion from P8.90 billion in the same period in 2025, as expenses outpaced revenue growth. Consolidated revenues for the January-to-September period increased 3.9% to P34.25 billion from P32.97 billion a year earlier.

Residential revenues accounted for the largest share at P27.88 billion — roughly four-fifths of the consolidated total — while enterprise revenues reached P6.37 billion, up 22% year on year, well ahead of the consolidated pace. The company’s residential subscriber base stood at 3.10 million as of end-September, supported by sustained demand for fiber broadband services.

Converge recorded total comprehensive income of P8.46 billion for the nine-month period, down 4.9% from P8.90 billion a year earlier. The company also reported P9.9 billion in capital expenditures (capex) during the first nine months.

Last month, Converge said it could fall short of its full-year capital spending target as construction and network rollout delays affected project completion. How that spending line lands by year-end, and whether the trimmed 4% to 6% target holds, will be among the items to watch as the year closes.

Network Resilience

Separately, Converge said its investments in international submarine cable systems helped minimize service disruptions following a cable cut that affected internet connectivity in October.

“Converge was able to swiftly reroute traffic, relying heavily on its new Bifrost cable system whereby service disruption remained minimal,” the company said.

“With the additional capacity from these two new cables, Converge not only has the youngest but it also has the most resilient international network among Philippine operators today,” Converge Chief Executive Officer Dennis Anthony H. Uy said.

Internet services were disrupted in early October after a submarine cable between the Philippines and Singapore was cut, prompting telecommunications companies, including Globe Telecom, Inc., PLDT Inc., and Converge, to reroute traffic through alternative links. Converge said it used its Bifrost international cable system to help stabilize connectivity following the disruption. The episode showed how much of the country’s international connectivity rides on a limited set of undersea routes, and why operators treat redundancy across multiple cable systems as central to keeping service stable.

At the local bourse on Monday, shares in Converge fell eight centavos, or 0.88%, to close at P9.05 apiece.

Source: BusinessWorld — Ashley Erika O. Jose