SHARES in PLDT Inc. inched down last week, mainly due to profit taking driven by the last day of Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) rebalancing, as well as developments to boost customer experience.
Data from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed the Pangilinan-led company ranking ninth in value turnover with P880.18 million worth of 748,020 shares exchanging hands from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.
The telco giant’s shares closed at P1,176 apiece on Friday, inching down by 2% from its P1,200 close on Aug. 25.
Year to date, the stock was also down by 10.7%.
On Aug. 28, local financial markets were closed for the National Heroes Day holiday.
Rastine Mackie D. Mercado, research director at China Bank Securities Corp., said the stock’s price movement last week was primarily influenced by broad-based profit-taking activities heading into the last day of MSCI rebalancing last Thursday.
“The conclusion of the MSCI rebalancing is when funds that are tracking the MSCI indices have to comply with the updated weights following the quarterly index review,” Mr. Mercado said in an e-mail.
The effectivity date of changes is Sept. 1, so all portfolios have to adhere to the updated weights by Aug. 31, he added. The said index is designed to measure the performance of the large and mid-cap segments of the Philippine market, covering about 85% of the local equity market.
Last week, PLDT and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. were reportedly keen on exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to make their network operations more efficient and to improve customer experience.
In a press release, PLDT and Smart President and Chief Executive Officer Alfredo S. Panlilio said that the group has been considering AI and studying how it can help grow the business and be more efficient and more customer-centered.
PLDT and Smart currently employ AI and machine learning on their self-optimizing network, joining global operators in the rapid adoption of the technology.
Other reports also say PLDT’s business-to-business platform, PLDT Enterprise, has successfully deployed its Internet of Possibilities (IoP) platform through Smart, for Cartrack Technologies Philippines, Inc.
Cartrack can leverage thousands of Internet of Things (IoT) sims for its asset and vehicle tracking business, increasing the reliability of its customers to efficiently manage their fleets and monitor their vehicles digitally through strong data connectivity, PLDT said in a separate media release.
Cartrack is a global provider of vehicle telematics, which is a combined GPS, onboard vehicle diagnostics, and black box technologies.
The local development saw a positive impact on Cartrack’s operations, allowing the global provider of vehicle telematics to expand its reach and enhance customer service, PLDT added.
While the product offerings and services are generally positive for customer service-focused companies such as PLDT, price action last week could be mainly attributed to market sentiment and profit-taking, said China Bank Securities’ Mr. Mercado.
“Nonetheless, we think markets will pay more close attention [to] how these initiatives would translate to better earnings performance for [PLDT] down the line,” he said, citing the impact on subscriber base and average revenue per user.
In the second quarter of the year, PLDT’s attributable net income rose 22.4% to reach P9.44 billion from P7.71 billion while total revenues inched up by 1.4% to P51.68 billion from P50.96 billion.
In the first half, earnings reached P18.45 billion, 10% higher than P16.79 billion in the same period a year ago as consolidated revenues grew by 3.2% to P104.04 billion from P100.79 billion.
For Joylin F. Telagen, research head at I.B. Gimenez Securities, Inc., PLDT’s third-quarter net income could reach P10 billion while full-year 2023 earnings could hit P38 billion.
Ms. Telagen cautioned market players to stay on the sidelines, saying PLDT seems to retest the long-term support area. She noted that if the long-term support holds, it would be time to accumulate PLDT shares and trade cautiously.
“Support is at P1,130.00 while resistance is at P1,1338.00,” Ms. Telagen said in an email.
Mr. Mercado sees investor interest would gradually improve for PLDT, noting several factors.
“[One is that] the mobile business sustains its recovery from its pandemic-induced slump, two, the data center business continues to grow at a robust pace, especially as [PLDT] bared its plan for building future data centers, and lastly, Maya become accretive to [the stock’s] earnings,” he said.
He pegged support and resistance levels at P1,150.00 and P1,270, respectively.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Abigail Marie P. Yraola
