Philippine Telecoms Giant PLDT's Profit Falls 34%

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. reported first-quarter profit declined 34 percent after the country’s largest phone carrier booked more charges related to an investment in a German company.

Net income in the three months ended March was 6.2 billion pesos ($132 million), compared with 9.4 billion pesos a year ago, while total revenue increased 1 percent to 42.8 billion pesos, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The company booked additional impairment charges related to Rocket Internet, three months after they led to PLDT reporting its first quarterly loss in 12 years.

The stock pared earlier gains as the company forecast competition to remain "intense" and for core profit, which excludes one time gains, to fall 20 percent this year.

PLDT shares, which were up as much as 2.9 percent before the company reported earnings, pared some of those gains and the stock was up 1.8 percent to 1,721 pesos at 3:20 p.m. in Manila trading.