Philippine Long Distance Telephone (NYSE: PHI) is a good mid to long term buy for me, a stock I continue to hold and invest in.
1/1/09 Price Per Share: $46.95
Company Description
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) is the Mama Bell of the Philippines. It is one of the most diversified telecommunications company in Southeast Asia and almost runs a fixed line monopoly in the Philippines.
PLDT operates through three segments: Wireless, Fixed Line, and Information and Communications Technology. The Company offers a range of telecommunications services to approximately 32 million subscribers in the Philippines. The Company is a fixed line service provider in the Philippines with approximately 59% of the total reported fixed line subscribers as of December 31, 2007. Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) it’s wholly owned subsidiary, is the cellular service provider, with approximately 37% of total reported cellular subscribers as of December 31, 2007.
Trends in Recession
PLDT met its target for cellular subscribers in 2008. It operates under the SMART brand name. This, with its steady cash flow from a near monopoly of fixed line subscribers and DSL service, continues to put PLDT as a solid market leader in the Philippines.
One of the best run and most respected companies in the Philippines, PLDT also pays $1.50 per share price as a dividend.
Summary
The Philippines is one of the few countries that is not in a recession, thanks large in part to its global imprint with overseas workers. There is roughly 2,500 Filipinos that leave the country every day to work abroad. The remittances being sent from this Filipino diaspora accounts to roughly 10-15% of the country's GDP, with 2008 being a record year. PLDT and other companies directly benefits from this.
-Don
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