Good afternoon and welcome to the third quarter 2025 analyst briefing of Globe Telecom. We will begin with a video presentation of our performance and a few updates on the digital platform businesses, to be followed by the Q&A session.
Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our third quarter 2025 analysts briefing. We are pleased to report that Globe maintained its growth momentum in the first nine months of the year. The revenue uptrend continues, with our top- line posting the fastest sequential growth in 13 quarters. Our consolidated gross service revenues improved by 3% quarter- on- quarter and reached PHP 41.5 billion in 3Q, powered by Globe's biggest growth engine, data. Revenues related to data-centric services accounted for 88% of the quarter's top line. On a nine-month basis, Globe's consolidated gross service revenues were 2% softer versus the same period last year. Note that while inflation has eased and household spending capacity has generally improved, the operating environment remains challenging. In particular, the localized economic impact of the typhoons that struck during the period added further pressure on consumer wallets.
Amidst this backdrop, Globe's cost management initiatives delivered meaningful efficiencies, ultimately resulting in EBITDA expanding by 3% quarter-on-quarter to PHP 22 billion. The company's EBITDA margin of 53% held firmly above guidance. Meanwhile, for the first nine months, Globe's EBITDA reached PHP 64.2 billion. Core net income for the third quarter amounted to PHP 5 billion, softer on a sequential basis, primarily due to higher financing costs and lower equity contributions from affiliates, partially offset by margin expansion. For the nine-month period, core net income reached PHP 15.5 billion. With that, we turn to some developments within Globe and its digital platform businesses, which we'll be discussing in greater detail later in the presentation. Firstly, we are pleased to confirm that we have completed and operationalized the first section of STT Fairview 1, with significant 1 MW customer deployment already active in the facility.
Second, Mynt, the parent company of GCash, contributed to 25% of Globe's net income before tax in the first nine months. Lastly, given these consistently robust results, the Board of Directors has approved the fourth quarterly cash dividend of PHP 25 per share, consistent with our declarations over the past few years and reaffirming our commitment to a sustainable dividend policy. Turning to Globe's operating performance, starting off with the mobile segment. Total mobile revenues for the first nine months amounted to PHP 86.2 billion, lower by 2% year-on-year, mainly due to the continued declines in legacy voice and SMS service revenues, which stood at PHP 8.3 billion and PHP 3.9 billion, respectively.
This was partially offset by mobile data revenues, growing 2% year-on-year to an all-time high of PHP 74 billion during the period, as Globe's sustained network investments and enhancements continued to provide Filipinos with reliable, best-in-class data services amid challenging times. Mobile data accounted for 86% of total mobile revenues, underscoring that data is Globe's primary growth engine and validating the company's strategic focus on network excellence, 5G rollout, and digital ecosystem development to support the country's digitalization agenda. The mobile segment sustained exceptional sequential momentum as well, with total mobile revenues increasing by 1% to PHP 29.1 billion in the third quarter. This improvement was driven by expanding data traffic, even as the period was marked by multiple weather-related disturbances.
Globe's resilient network and continued investments ensured customers remained connected, reinforcing the company's leadership in delivering reliable, high-quality services that power work, education, commerce, and community resilience across the nation. This also demonstrates how Globe's customers are beginning to further habituate themselves into using data-related services. The company's mobile subscriber base reached 63.1 million as of end September, up 1% quarter-on-quarter and 5% compared to the same period last year. Of these, 37.8 million were active mobile data users, a sign of progress in digital inclusion and a reminder of Globe's ongoing commitment to expanding access so more Filipinos can benefit from reliable connectivity and digital services. Average volume of use per subscriber remained stable at around 15 GB per month. Meanwhile, mobile data traffic rose 1% quarter-on-quarter, outpacing the growth in mobile data users, notwithstanding the weather-related disturbances during the period.
Recall, in the quarter alone, the country saw 10 typhoons that disrupted mobility and consumer patterns, a stark reminder of how indispensable digital connectivity has become to everyday life in the Philippines. There were also 24 recorded days of class suspensions in the country. Taken together, these show that Globe's digital lifestyle habituation strategies are proving effective, as it strives to create more value for its customers. To give additional context on this nine-month performance, average daily mobile top-ups are on an uptrend, despite the shifting market dynamics and weather-related disturbances. Further, Globe's average daily wireless traffic continued to stay at healthy elevated levels during the period, allowing for further data monetization as the company delivers individually tailored offers, products, and services to its customers. This monetization is further amplified by Globe's 5G customer base, which delivers markedly higher value per user than non-5G subscribers.
As of end September, average daily 5G mobile traffic demonstrated a promising upward trend, growing by 85% from December 2024, alongside a 45% jump in 5G at po. Let's now talk about the broadband business. Globe's home broadband segment contributed PHP 17.8 billion in revenues for the nine-month period ended September 2025, broadly flat year-on-year, as the ongoing tapering of the fixed wireless business was partly offset by the migration of subscribers to fiber. As a result of this transition, total fiber revenues grew by 5% year-on-year, while the total fiber subscriber base expanded by a significant 44%, bringing the company's total broadband subscribers to 2.1 million as of end September. Fiber's share now makes up 91% of total home broadband revenues, compared to 86% a year earlier. Notably, the sustained momentum and successful expansion of fiber adoption is starting to offset the normalization of our fixed wireless business.
To add, total home broadband revenues show deeper signs of stabilization with its back-to-back quarterly sequential recovery. The segment contributed PHP 6.1 billion revenues in third quarter, higher by 4%. Globe remains committed to accelerating fiber expansion, in line with its strategy to broaden broadband accessibility across the country. This expansion is largely backed by GFiber Prepaid, as it continued to gain remarkable traction in the third quarter, solidifying its standing as the country's fastest-growing prepaid fiber service. GFP subscribers hit 700,000 by end September, up 28% quarter-on-quarter and over 3.7 x from a year ago. The brand continues to resonate with households through its affordable and flexible fiber offers, driving wider adoption across segments. At the same time, higher value reload activity pushed ARPU upward, with average daily top-ups surging more than 4.2 x in 3Q 2025 versus the 2024 average.
The outperformance of GFiber Prepaid highlights Globe's successful execution in democratizing fiber access for more Filipino homes. Meanwhile, corporate data revenues reported a strong sequential turnaround in the third quarter, highlighting the segment's stabilizing growth and sustained tailwinds from core adjacent ICT services. This improvement reflects more aggressive revenue acquisition efforts, healthier deal conversion, and steady execution across solution-led offerings. While corporate data revenues for the first nine months softened to PHP 15 billion, the third quarter initiated a rebound in growth. Total revenues for 3Q expanded sequentially by 13% to PHP 5.4 billion, driven by regained momentum in core data connectivity and business application solutions supported by the continued uptake in cybersecurity, data center, big data, and IoT solutions, highlighting the company's ongoing shift toward value-adding, future-ready offerings while keeping its focus on core connectivity services.
Looking ahead, enterprise spending on reliable connectivity and mission-critical ICT solutions is expected to remain stable and expand, in line with the country's rapidly growing digital economy, supporting Globe's strategy to scale solutions offerings, grow share of wallet through deeper customer partnerships, and reinforce sustainable growth in the enterprise business. Globe's non-telco revenues, meanwhile, amounted to PHP 1.7 billion in the first nine months, with softer results from AdSpark partly balanced by stronger contributions from Yondu and Astecom. On the other hand, Mynt, the parent company of GCash, delivered strong performance yet again, reinforcing its solid fundamentals and its standing as the Philippines' leading digital financial ecosystem.
For the nine-month period, Globe's equity share in Mynt rose to PHP 5.3 billion, accounting for 25% of Globe's net income before tax, supported by growth across Mynt's key business pillars, primarily everyday payments and transfers and fair lending for the underserved population of the country. This pushed the total contribution of our affiliates to PHP 5.7 billion as of end September. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Mynt's expenses were higher due to a combination of seasonality and continued investments into the business. Mynt typically sees seasonal sales and marketing spend increase from 3Q to 4Q, as it launches its back-to-school campaigns and accelerates preparations for holiday initiatives, such as GCash's birthday celebration in October and Merry GCash in December. In the third quarter, Mynt also increased investments in technology, platforms, and security capabilities as it continued to enhance operating efficiencies.
Shifting the discussion to our capital expenditures, our strategy of optimized spending has been demonstrably effective, helping strengthen the company's healthy free cash flow position. Globe's cash capital expenditures for the first nine months stood at PHP 31.4 billion as of end September, equivalent to 26% of top-line and enabling continued calibrated investment in critical infrastructure. These levels are 23% lower year-on-year, underscoring Globe's sharper focus on strategic capital management. Recall that Globe generated positive free cash flow before dividends in the first half, earlier than expected, and we aim to sustain and build on this for the remainder of the year. As in prior periods, around 89% of CapEx was directed toward data-related projects, reaffirming Globe's commitment to advancing digital capacity and expanding connectivity nationwide. By pursuing focused investments and innovation shaped around customer demand, Globe continues to empower more Filipinos to thrive in a digitally connected economy.
As of end September 2025, Globe delivered significant progress in expanding and modernizing its network to address accelerating digital demand across the country. A total of 1,375 new cell sites were built, while 8,699 existing mobile sites were upgraded, enhancing reliability and service quality for mobile users. Globe also reinforced its 5G footprint, rolling out 877 new 5G sites across strategic locations across the country. Lastly, to accommodate rising requirements for fast and dependable internet, Globe also rolled out 60,193 fiber-to-the-home lines during the first three quarters. These sustained network investments also allowed Globe to respond quickly and effectively to the recent severe weather and seismic events through Alagang Globe. From July to October 2025, we deployed 29 libreng tawag and charging sites. During the same period, we delivered relief assistance to over 9,000 families.
We continue to enable greater community support by providing donation channels, like our Globe Rewards program and through GCash. We also support affected communities with relief services, like extended payment due dates for postpaid customers and free calls, texts, and data for prepaid users, and distribution of relief goods. Globe also remains firmly committed to its net-zero ambition, aiming to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain by 2050. Our 2024 results show a 55.09% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 44.86% reduction in Scope 3 emissions versus baseline. Recalculation of the base year GHG emissions is being conducted to align with the science-based target initiative standard and near-term criteria. We are leveraging the retail aggregation program initiated by the Philippine Energy Regulatory Commission to accelerate our path toward Scope 2 reduction.
Our target is to aggregate and transition more than 3,000 low-energy utilization facilities, such as cell sites, to renewable energy by 2028 in Greater Manila, Region 4A, and Central Luzon. Globe is also making strides in online safety and digital skills. We're strengthening our fraud prevention efforts, including an MoU with the DICT and launching an SMS Scam Shield feature on the GlobeOne app. On the digital skills front, we continue to reach more AI through the AI Thumbprint program. In terms of community engagement, through the partnership of Globe and Khan Academy, AI for Learning is now available on the GlobeOne app. In addition, as Globe celebrated G Day in September, more than 3,000 employees across the country dedicated 91.7 minutes of service with seven partner NGOs. Globe's governance efforts are also consistently recognized.
The company was named a Top 5 PLC in the Philippines and a Top 50 PLC in ASEAN at the 2025 ASEAN Corporate Governance Conference and Awards. We also received the overall Grand Winner title and 11 other awards at the HR Excellence Awards 2025 and maintained our membership in the FITSE For Good series for 10 years. Moreover, Globe has once again proven its unwavering commitment to the highest standards of corporate governance, earning five Golden Arrows from the Institute of Corporate Directors for the fourth consecutive year. The distinction affirms Globe's consistent performance in upholding transparency, accountability, and ethical leadership across all levels of the organization. Next, further to these operational highlights, we'd like to talk about the Konektadong Pinoy Act. Despite its constitutional infirmities, Globe sees potential pockets of opportunities that can complement our business for the benefit of the Filipinos.
Firstly, the KPA presents an opportunity for Globe to monetize some portions of its passive telco infrastructure, thereby leading to more efficient capacity utilization. On the other side of this coin, infrastructure sharing also opens up opportunities in other lucrative markets wherein Globe can expand and provide services. Secondly, coordination with national infrastructure programs and policies could also aid in speeding up rollout, aligning with Globe's strategy of maintaining efficient capital deployment while ensuring best-in-class network and service reliability for its customers. Ultimately, these will lead to wider coverage and deeper internet penetration across the nation, which is part and parcel of Globe's commitment to providing fast, affordable, and reliable connectivity to the Filipinos.
Note, however, that after the IRR takes effect, these opportunities will still remain contingent on the necessary implementing guidelines and circulars to fully implement KPA, such as access lists, qualifications of the data transmission industry participants, and the spectrum management policy frameworks. Let's now talk about Globe's digital platform businesses, starting with STT GDC Philippines, whose core mandate is to build world-class digital infrastructure. We are pleased to confirm that despite the typical headwinds of large-scale construction, the company has completed and operationalized the first section of STT Fairview 1. This is more than just infrastructure; we have a significant 1 MW customer deployment already active in the facility. This is a testament to the seamless coordination between our construction, commercial, and operations teams. Construction progress is strong and continues to de-risk the company's future revenue pipeline.
For STT Fairview 1, the integrated systems test for the initial customer data hall is complete. Level 1 is now fully operational, and the fit-out of Level 2 data halls is in progress. For STT Cavite 2, we are nearing the finish line. Both power feeders are energized, all power and cooling installations are complete in the data halls, and we have active, strong progress on commissioning levels 2 and 3. Site development works are nearing final completion. Beyond these, STT GDC Philippines has also been exceptionally active in leading the market and shaping the industry narrative. We championed industry advocacy at the Asian Carriers Conference with DCPH, leading discussions on critical issues like data sovereignty, sustainability, power, and talent. We solidified relationships by hosting an exclusive data center tour for the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines.
We empowered our ecosystem through our Accelerate Sales Enablement program for our partners. We also sponsored and joined the Chamber of Thrift Banks' annual conference. Moreover, our President and Chief Executive Officer was invited to a featured speaking engagement at the Ayala -FINEX Finance Summit. We partnered with HGC and Eastern Communications to promote AMS-IX at the PhNOG Conference. In summary, the company's construction is hitting critical milestones, and our commercial team is ensuring we lead the industry conversation. We are confident that the foundational work we are completing this year will position us for exceptional acceleration and market leadership in 2026 and beyond. Moving on to Mynt, GCash continues to be a leader in driving financial inclusion, where eight in 10 Filipinos have used GCash to access financial services for their everydays.
Now, 90% of our users are from the lower socioeconomic segments, while 78% are from outside NCR, 55% are women, and 53% are young adults. GCash is also paving the way for world-class innovations that all Filipinos can experience here at home. The company just launched the newest tap-to-pay feature, a next-gen solution for contactless and secure payments. Powered by NFC, the feature can be used across 150 million merchants worldwide. For Filipino commuters, they can also use tap-to-pay in MRT- 3 train stations to experience a quicker first-world commute. The feature is currently available in Android devices that support NFC. As GCash continues to innovate, more users are trusting us to be their partner in their financial journey.
For lending, we have dispersed loans worth PHP 323 billion life to date, a 73% increase from last year, to over 10.2 million unique borrowers, all made possible by our in-house credit score, GScore. Through our Study Now, Pay Later loan program, users can pay for tuition and other school fees upfront, then pay it back in installments. In wealth management, we're opening up our users to more opportunities for wealth building. GSave now serves 15.3 million users, benefiting from our expanding portfolio of partner banks. GStocks now has 1.5 million registered users who can now enjoy a new and improved user experience. GFunds now has 8.6 million users who can easily invest in a diverse pool of funds they can choose from. Meanwhile, GCrypto enables 4.4 million users to trade different cryptocurrencies.
Through GBonds, which just launched last quarter, users can invest in secure government bonds and even buy RTB31 bills for a limited time only. For a minimum investment of PHP 5,000, they can earn 6% interest per annum. Lastly, through GInsure, we have sold 80.2 million policies to 18.5 million users, enabling them to prepare for emergencies. With the new PasaHERO Protect, Filipinos can have more peace of mind during their commutes for an affordable premium as low as PHP 15. Beyond financial services, GCash is driving impact by giving Filipinos the digital tools they need to thrive. For the youth, GCash Jr.'s newest parent-led registration feature enables parents to open their teen's GCash accounts and manage them via the parent dashboard. This allows their children to begin their financial journey at an early age.
For small businesses and sari-sari stores, the newly launched GCash Pera Outlet Plus app provides a fully digital experience for onboarding and additional opportunities to grow their income. For job seekers, we recently concluded a series of GJobs Hired on the Spot live streams, a first of its kind that enables job seekers to get instantly hired by an employer in partnership with ActivAsia. We're also proud to share our latest milestones as we continue bringing world-class innovation to the Philippines. We're excited to introduce GCash Pocket Pay. Now, business owners can turn their phone into an instant POS to accept card payments. Another innovation to make it easier for micro, small, and medium enterprises to help grow their business.
Finally, with the launch of our Virtual US Account, we're making it easier and faster for Filipinos to receive money from the U.S. directly in their GCash wallets and just in time for the Christmas holidays. The company also continues to trailblaze innovations that create more opportunities for inclusive growth. We are proud to introduce GStocks PH's IPO subscription feature, which allows Filipinos to subscribe to IPOs within the GCash app and experience the same ease of access and convenience experienced by institutional investors. The feature was launched during Maynilad's IPO, where over 6,000 users participated with over 3 million shares subscribed to, and ending at 200% oversubscribed during the 7-day sale period in GStocks PH. Lastly, in the recently concluded Mastercard ASEAN Inclusive Growth Summit, Fuze shared how our alternative credit scoring is creating more inclusive opportunities for Filipino MSMEs to access financing.
Fuze also became the first ASEAN Fintech company to receive a grant from the ADB and Mastercard's Impact Fund to help finance women-led enterprises and climate initiatives. Now, on to the final portion of the presentation, Globe's financial highlights. To summarize the earlier points made, Globe's consolidated gross service revenues posted the fastest sequential growth in 13 quarters, cementing this year's momentum. This led to total revenues for the first 9 months amounting to PHP 122 billion, only 2% softer against the same period last year, despite the challenging operating environment affected by multiple weather-related disturbances and tighter consumer wallets. Nonetheless, the company's cost management initiatives continued to deliver results, with total operating expenses and subsidy reaching just PHP 57.5 billion in the first three quarters, lower by 3% year-on-year. EBITDA stood at PHP 64.2 billion, equivalent to a robust margin of 52.8%, tracking above Globe's full-year guidance.
Depreciation expenses, on the other hand, increased by 7% year-on-year to PHP 40 billion due to continuous CapEx investments and capitalized leases, resulting in an EBIT of PHP 24.2 billion. Non-operating charges for the period amounted to PHP 3 billion, larger than the PHP 2.2 billion last year, mainly due to ongoing network expansions. As a result, net income for the first nine months reached PHP 17.7 billion, while core net income, which excludes the effects of non-recurring expenses, amounted to PHP 15.5 billion. On a sequential basis, as mentioned earlier, Globe staged back-to-back quarterly recovery, with consolidated gross service revenues inching 3% higher to PHP 41.5 billion. Although operating expenses and subsidy rose 3% quarter-on-quarter to PHP 19.4 billion, Globe's EBITDA for 3Q still increased to PHP 22 billion, highlighting the resilience of Globe's core businesses. EBITDA margin expanded to 53.1%.
Depreciation for the third quarter ended at PHP 13.6 billion, higher by 4% sequentially. Non-operating charges reached PHP 2.1 billion, while net income amounted to PHP 5.3 billion. Core net income, again stripping out non-recurring items, was at PHP 5 billion in the third quarter, primarily due to higher financing costs and lower equity contributions from affiliates. Diving deeper into our costs now, our total operating expenses and subsidy for the first nine months contracted 3% year-on-year to PHP 57.5 billion. This was primarily driven by the PHP 933 million decline in staff costs, the PHP 977 million drop in marketing and subsidy expenses, and the PHP 598 million drop in services and other OpEx, more than offsetting the higher interconnect charges, network costs, and provisions during the period. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Globe's operating expenses and subsidy posted a marginal 3% increase to PHP 19.4 billion.
This was primarily driven by the PHP 600 million uptick in staff costs due to higher headcount, the PHP 45 million increase in marketing and subsidy, and the PHP 166 million growth in services and other OpEx on higher expenses, on subscriber line installation and other managed services. Nonetheless, our EBITDA margin stayed healthy at 53.1%, implying a 3% sequential expansion in EBITDA to PHP 22 billion. Globe maintains a robust financial position with sufficient liquidity and gearing levels that are well within the bank covenants. Leverage remains relatively stable, with gross debt level amounting to PHP 253.5 billion as at end September 2025. The company's unrestricted cash level stood at PHP 27.7 billion. Key financial ratios remained comfortably within covenant thresholds.
Globe's gross debt to EBITDA stood at 2.69 x, net debt to EBITDA at 2.4 x, and debt service coverage ratio at 3.74 x, underscoring the company's disciplined financial management while at the same time sustaining investments in critical infrastructure. As a result of the foregoing, Globe's board of directors has approved the payout of PHP 25 per share. This is proof of Globe's commitment to a sustainable dividend policy that is in line with our earnings and cash flow generation, as well as to our commitment of delivering value to our shareholders. Key dates for this declaration are the payment date of December 5th, 2025, to shareholders on record as of November 20th, 2025. Finally, we are reaffirming our consolidated outlook for the year. Well into 2025, we are happy to report that the company is mostly on track across key metrics.
For service revenues, we continue to guide low to mid-single-digit growth versus the record-breaking level of 2024, buoyed by Globe's strong operational momentum and resilient business segments. For our EBITDA margin, we are maintaining the guidance of 50%. Lastly, we want to reaffirm our major commitment to shoring up free cash flow. With free cash flow before dividends turning positive in the first half ahead of expectations, we are well- positioned to sustain momentum through year-end, supported by optimized capital deployment that is on track to end below $1 billion for the full year. This approach strengthens Globe's financial position while ensuring we continue to invest effectively in critical infrastructure. That ends the presentation. Thank you all for listening.
Good afternoon once again. Now, as we prepare the stage for the Q&A session, I'd like to introduce the matching panel. First, of course, we have Mr.
Carl Cruz, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Carlo Puno, Chief Finance Officer, [Tony] Froilan Castelo, General Counsel, Ms. Katy Dizon, Vice President and Head of the Globe Business, Mr. Carlo Malana, President and Chief Executive Officer, STT GDC , Mr. Jonas Gonzales, Assistant Vice President for Strategy and Governance for Mobile, Mr. JC Hilot, the Director for Business Strategy and Governance for Broadband. Our first set of questions comes from John Te of UBS. The first set of questions actually are on Mynt, so I think Carlo will be answering these questions. First one is, why did online gaming appear to have a disproportionately large impact on profit and revenue, with profit down 27% QoQ versus revenue down 2% quarter-on-quarter?
Majority of the quarter-on-quarter decline in Mynt's NIAT for 3Q is actually due to higher expenses.
It's attributable to the higher spending on sales and marketing, and it's really linked to the different programs that they launched in the third quarter. It's also coupled with some investments on their platform, their tech, as well as their security capabilities, particularly in this macro and regulatory environment.
Thank you, Carlo. The second question again on Mynt is, can we assume online gaming accounted for at least 10% of revenues? Back calculating from illicit gaming companies, 20% QoQ decline versus your 2% QoQ revenue approximates this?
At this point, we don't disclose the revenue split for Mynt across the different business pillars, but it is important to note and to highlight that the consolidated business performance of Mynt cannot be correlated to those of online gaming operators, simply because the revenue models are different, plus the fact that GCash is very much diversified across different industries.
Thank you, Carlo.
The third question is on quarterly profit. Given the crackdown began in late August, do you expect a larger impact in the fourth quarter?
Sorry, for Mynt, still for Mynt?
Yes, it's for Mynt. Thank you.
We don't provide forward guidance. However, as correctly pointed out, the third quarter showed half a quarter's worth of impact. I think what we can say is that for Mynt, we may experience some short-term impact on consolidated results. I think the company is very much confident in the medium to long-term performance, and it's all underpinned by the continued secular tailwinds across, given the push for digitalization of financial services, obviously underpinned also by the fact that there is a culture of innovation in GCash, and there is an expansion of services that's also being focused on.
Thank you, Carlo.
The next set of questions are from Zhiwei Foo of Macquarie. Zhiwei's first question already was answered. This is regarding the QoQ movement in Mynt's results. We'll just share the reply with Zhiwei offline. The second question is also on Mynt, and the first part about profitability was already answered earlier. Maybe, Carlo, you can answer the second component of that question. What were the reasons driving the delays in its eventual IPO?
I think it's important to clarify that there has been no official decision that has ever been made, actually, on the potential IPO of GCash. I think the focus really is on growing the business, currently improving its governance as well as its controls. We will make, and GCash will make the necessary disclosures according to PSE regulations, if and when a definitive decision has been made.
Thank you, Carlo.
Okay, the third question is on mobile. This is for Jonas to answer. Mobile prepaid subscribers in our ARPU seem to have stabilized and recovered for the last three quarters. How do you see competitive intensity, and how much sequential improvement can we expect from here?
So far, in the third quarter, we have not seen any escalation in pricing from competition. Actually, Q3, we saw competition to be very rational in price. Now, we do not foresee any aggression in the coming months, and we do expect an improving competitive environment. We want to highlight, though, that ARPU continues to grow behind our habituation initiatives, and we do have the right portfolio mix to drive upsell and stimulate usage. Hyper-personalization also plays a part in nurturing our customers towards having a more healthy telco behavior.
Thanks, Jonas.
The next set of questions come from Arthur Pineda of Citi. Arthur, your first question on Mynt with regards to the QoQ movement, and, well, this was already addressed, so we'll just share with you the replies given earlier offline. The second question from Arthur is on KPA, and I think maybe Carl or Carlo Puno can answer this. The IRRs have been signed by the president. How do you see the new law as impacting your business going forward? Do you see revenue and/or margin pressure as escalating for your telco business based on the terms given?
I think we alluded to that in the presentation earlier where we take a look at the KP Bill. Really, it's an opportunity, one, to really maximize the capacity of our network.
Obviously, at Globe, we make sure that first and foremost, we take a look at the experience of our customers on the network. With competition coming in, that remains to be our key focus area. We look at the KP Bill as an opportunity for us, again, to really maximize the capacity of the network, work with a lot of the key players to actually support the president's vision to have universal affordable access across the country. I think the regulator, Chair of Secretary, Aguda, is moving in the right direction simply because, one, we're now going to see a bit of public sector participation in making sure it's extended through the incentives provided in the GIDA scheme or geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
Plus, we are in conversations with them to improve or to hasten the ability of the players, not only Globe, to extend the coverage of the network in key municipalities in the country. I don't know, Froy, if you want to add to that, or you're okay? You're good. Thank you.
Thanks, Carl. The third question from Zhiwei is for Carlo P. What is driving the low effective tax rate of 16% for nine months 2025? Where do you see this as going for the full year?
It's a function of the increased share in earnings from affiliates, as well as the recognition of gains from the gain on dilution of Mynt shareholdings for this year. I think if you strip those two out, you would probably be closer to around 25%.
I think from a full- year perspective, you're probably going to end up at around 17%-18% effective tax rate.
Thank you, Carlo. The next set of questions come from Gregg Ila g of BPI Securities. Gregg's first question, again, is on GCash sequential decline, rather movement. We'll just share with him the answers given earlier offline. His second question is on the competitive landscape in mobile and fiber in 3Q 2025. Mobile, of course, was already answered by Jonas earlier, so we'll just share that reply with Gregg. Maybe JC can answer for the broadband side.
Thank you for the question. I think for us, for the fiber market, we think that it is gradually stabilizing with players, including us, Globe, focusing on quality, innovation, and sustainable growth. Our fiber base remains healthy at 2.1 million and contributing 91% to home broadband revenues.
This is basically reflecting steady demand and a recovering market.
Thank you, JC. The third question from Gregg is on KPA, and I think this was already covered when it comes to the effects of KPA on the expansion plan. We will just share the reply given earlier with Gregg offline. Again, thank you for your questions. Maybe at this point, we would like to ask our live audience if you have any questions that you may want to ask from the panel. You can just go to the mic, introduce yourself and the company that you present, and ask your question. Thank you. Okay, maybe we can give you more time. At the moment, rather, we have follow-up questions, again, from John Te of UBS. This question is on KPA, and maybe this question for Froy to address. Are there any updates, particularly on the spectrum?
Do you expect revisions to spectrum fees or validity, or are there other risks to existing spectrum?
Hi, John. There is a provision in the KPA law which deals with spectrum, which is not supposed to be there. It does not have anything to do with fixed broadband. There is a provision which talks about the review of the current spectrum holdings of the mobile companies and possibly the recall of some. With regard to spectrum fees, there are certain plans of the government, of the administration, to review the current rate base of the spectrum user fees. We do not know whether it is an increase or decrease, and we have not yet seen the draft of these new rules.
Thank you, Froy. The next question is for Carlo P. Depreciation rose 8% year on year and 4% quarter-on-quarter despite lower 2025 CapEx.
What drove this increase, and what could be a sustainable run rate?
Depreciation is made up not only of CapEx depreciation but also the amortization of the right of use assets. This is actually the one that's been driving the growth on the depreciation year on year. This is related to our network rollout as we do deploy a lot more through the TowerCo partners, which means we deploy through a build-to-suit process, which means we do record amortization in the P&L. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, it's more timing on when the sites are actually fired up, but we do expect some of these to normalize in the fourth quarter, and we're probably looking at around 6%-7% growth on a full-year basis against 2024 on a total depreciation basis.
Thank you, Carlo. The next question is on mobile, and this is for Jonas.
The MD&A in our 17Q report cited, "Persistent industry competition in mobile." Can you elaborate on the nature and sources of this?
Yep. As previously mentioned, the competition does remain persistent but broadly rational. The specific pressure points where we're seeing competition is really in the value segment pricing. We're also seeing it in select unlimited and high-gigabyte data offers. There's also DTOS localized market share gains and macroeconomic-driven consumer sensitivity. Globe's strategic response really centers on network experience leadership, really expanding the reach of our hyper-personalized offers and localized portfolio management. All of these are really designed to defend both market share and our pool amidst continuous competition. Thank you.
Thank you, Jonas. The next question is on broadband, and I think this is for JC.
Again, referring to the MD&A, it cited, "Fiber now makes up 91% of total home broadband revenues compared to 86% a year earlier." They just want to ask whether this applies to the first nine months or for the third quarter.
The 91% is for the first nine months of 2025.
Okay. Thank you, JC. Again, we would like to ask our live audience if you have any questions that you would want to ask the panel. As there are no further questions from the live audience, this concludes the Q&A portion. Before I adjourn, we will now turn over the floor to Carl for his closing remarks.
Thank you, Jose Marie. Quarter three has been very good for us at Globe.
If one takes a look at the performance quarter-on-quarter, as indicated in the deck and in the section a while back, it's been very good for us. There was a 3% quarter-on-quarter growth on the top line. Where it really matters most, which is the data revenue, it's at an all-time high. From that lens, we are quite pleased with the results of the quarter. Costs are definitely under control. As Globe, we will continue to invest in the digital infrastructure of the country. Anything related to digital infra, you will see Globe not only play a role but really a leading role in that particular segment or space. We do have colleagues within the room as well that are heavily involved in that particular space, which is Carlo Malana for STT GDC and, of course, the rest of our colleagues.
We look forward to ending the year strong, maintaining that momentum quarter two to quarter three, and then really, really ending it on a high in quarter four. With that, we'd like to end this quarter's call and results so that we can move on for a good rest of the day. Thank you, Jose Mari.
Thank you, Carl. On that note, we conclude the third quarter 2025 analyst briefing of Globe Telecom. We should thank again all of you who joined us here and in the call. We hope you'll join us again for our fourth quarter 2025 analyst briefing in early February 2026. Again, we wish everyone a blessed good afternoon. Stay safe, everyone.