**SECURITIES  AND  EXCHANGECOMMISSION**

Washington, D.C.  20549

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**FORM  6 -K**

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**REPORT  OF  FOREIGN  PRIVATE  ISSUER**

**PURSUANT  TO  RULE  13a-16  or  15d-16  OF**

**THE  SECURITIES  EXCHANGE  ACT  OF  1934**

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**Report  on  Form  6-K  dated****May 15, 2003**

(Commission  File  No.  1-15024)

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**PHILIPPINE  LONG  DISTANCE  TELEPHONE  COMPANY**

(Name of Registrant)

 

Ramon Cojuangco Building
**Makati Avenue****,****Makati****City**

**Philippines****0721**

(Address of Principal Executive Officers)

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reportsunder cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:

 

Form 20-F:  y                        Form 40-F:  o

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper aspermitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101 (b) (1):

 

Yes:  o                                    No:  y

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper aspermitted by Regulation by Regulation S-T Rule 101 (b) (7):

 

Yes:  o                                    No:  y

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the informationcontained in this form is also thereby furnishing the  information to theCommission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of1934:

 

                Yes:  o                                    No:  y

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enclosure:

 

 

 

A copy of the press release that is being issued today byPhilippine Long Distance Telephone Company (“Company”), regarding the Company’sfinancial condition and results of operations for the three (3) months ended March 31, 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
May 15, 2003
 

 

 

Philippine Stock Exchange

4/F Philippine Stock Exchange Center

PSE Center, Exchange Road

Ortigas Center,Pasig City

 

Attention:  Atty. Jose G. Cervantes
Senior VicePresident
 

Gentlemen:

 

            Inaccordance with Sections 17.1 (b) and 17.3 of the Securities Regulation Code,enclosed is a Current Report with a press release attached thereto regardingthe Company’s financial condition and results of operations for the three (3)months ended March 31, 2003.

 

 

      Very truly yours,

 

     PHILIPPINE LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE COMPANY
 

 

 

 

     MA. LOURDES C. RAUSA-CHAN 
Corporate  Secretary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
May 15, 2003
 

 

 

Securities & Exchange Commission

Money Market Operations Department

SEC Building, EDSA

Mandaluyong City

 

Attention:  Director Justina F. Callangan
Corporations Finance Department
 

Gentlemen:

 

            Inaccordance with Section 17.1 (b) of Securities Regulation Code, we aresubmitting herewith five (5) copies of a Current Report with a press releaseattached thereto regarding the Company’s financial condition and results ofoperations for the three (3) months ended March 31, 2003.

   Very truly yours,

 

    PHILIPPINE LONG DISTANCETELEPHONE COMPANY

 

 

 

 

            MA. LOURDES C.RAUSA-CHAN
Corporate  Secretary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COVER SHEET

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**(Company’s Full Name)**

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**(Business Address: No.****Street********City****/Town/****Province****)**

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**ATTY. MA.****LOURDES****C. RAUSA-CHAN**

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**814-3552**

ContactPersonCompany Telephone Number

 

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**SEC FORM 17-C**

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**MonthDay                                                  FORM  TYPEMonth                      Day**

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**Dept. Requiring this Doc.                                               Amended Articles Number/Section**

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**Total Amount of Borrowings**

**15,990**

**As of****March 31, 2003**

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**Total No. of StockholdersDomestic                                                     Foreign**

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To be accomplished by SEC Personnelconcerned
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**File Number                                                                       ____________________________________**

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**Document I.D.                                                                    ____________________________________**

**Cashier**

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STAMPS
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**Remarks: Please use black ink for scanning purposes.**

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**SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION**

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**CURRENT REPORT UNDER SECTION 17**

**OF THE SECURITIES REGULATION CODE**

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1.MaY 15, 2003____________________

****Date of Report (Date of earliestevent reported)

 

2.SEC Identification Number _____PW-55 ____   3.  BIR Tax IdentificationNo. ____000-488-793   __

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4.Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company            _____________________________________

****Exact name of registrant asspecified in its charter

 

5.  Philippines___________________________6.            (SEC Use Only)

Province, country or other jurisdiction orIndustry Classification Code:

Incorporation

 

7. Makati Avenue, Makati City, Philippines____________________________________

Address of principal officePostal Code

 

8.(632) 814-3664    __________________________________________________________________

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code

 

9.Not Applicable____________________________________________________________________

Former name or former address, if changed since last report

 

10.Securities registered pursuant to Sections 8 and 12 of the SecuritiesRegulation Code

 

Title of Each Class                                 Numberof Shares of Common Stock

Outstanding and Amount of Debt Outstanding

 

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__________________________________________________________________________________

 

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11.Indicate the item numbers reported herein: ____________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PLDT delivers strongperformance for 1st quarter 2003

 
- Consolidated revenues up by 22 percent to Pesos 22.7 billion on Smart’s stellar performance
- Consolidated EBITDA rises 13 percent to Pesos 12.5 billion while EBITDA margin remains solid at 55 percent of revenues
- Consolidated net income surges 58 percent to Pesos 2.5 billion 
- Consolidated free cash flow significantly improves to Pesos 6.4 billion, enabling PLDT and Smart to reduce debts by US$50 million and US$31 million, respectively
- Smart and Talk ‘N Text, combined, adds 770,000 new GSM subscribers, ending the first quarter with 9.4 million system-wide subscribers
- PLDT’s reduces headcount by 313 in the first quarter of 2003 with further downsizing expected through the implementation of its Manpower Reduction Program

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***MANILA******,******Philippines******,******May 15, 2003***   –– Philippine Long DistanceTelephone Company (“PLDT”) (PSE: TEL) (NYSE: PHI) today announced its financialresults for the first quarter of 2003. PLDT’s consolidated revenues grew by 22percent to Pesos 22.7 billion in the first quarter of 2003.   ConsolidatedEBITDA rose by 13 percent to Pesos 12.5 billion in the first quarter of 2003from Pesos 11.0 billion last year. EBITDA margin remained solid at 55 percentof revenues. Consolidated net income surged 58 percent, hitting Pesos 2.5billion compared to Pesos 1.6 billion in the same period last year, marking astrong performance for PLDT in the first quarter of the year.

 

Smart Communications, Inc. (“Smart”) continued to be the maindriver for much of PLDT’s robust growth. Smart posted significant growth inrevenues, EBITDA, and net income as it substantially increased its subscriberbase to stay well ahead of the competition. 

 

Smart is also expected to pay dividends to PLDT of up toPesos 4.3 billion, representing 70 percent of its net income in 2002, afterhaving gained the approval of Finnvera and other required lenders subject tothe endorsement of Finnvera’s re-insurer.

 

PLDT Fixed Line continuedto successfully implement its Manpower Reduction Program as headcount wasreduced by 313 in the first quarter of 2003 in line with the Company’s ongoingefforts to bring down its cost base.

 

**"Our broadstrategy for PLDT is simple - to grow our wireless business and strengthenour fixed line business, " commented****Manuel V. Pangilinan,President and CEO of PLDT****. “The results of ourperformance in the first quarter of 2003 validates that we are moving forwardin the right direction,”  added****Pangilinan****.**

 

 
 

 
 
 
 
Smart:Reaching New Heights
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For the first quarter 2003, Smart affirmed its marketleadership, ending the quarter with 7.4 million subscribers, representing 45percent of the market.  In addition, Talk ‘N Text, which utilizes Smart’snetwork for its prepaid GSM service, had 2.0 million subscribers accounting for12 percent of the market.   Smart added 564,000 new subscribers in the firstquarter while Talk ‘N Text added 205,000.

 

On a stand-alone basis, Smart’s revenues jumped by 51percent to Pesos 10.7 billion as a result of a larger subscriber base.  EBITDAgrew significantly by 48 percent to Pesos 6.2 billion in the first quarter of2003 from Pesos 4.2 billion last year, while EBITDA margins remained solid at58 percent. Smart’s net income surged 87 percent to Pesos 2.8 billion in thefirst quarter of 2003 from Pesos 1.5 billion in the same period last year. Smart’srevenue growth is principally anchored on generating increased traffic on thenetwork by a growing subscriber base.

 

Revenues from cellular data services, which include alltext-related services as well as value-added services, increased by 45 percentto Pesos 4.0 billion in the first quarter this year compared to Pesos 2.8billion the same period last year. Data revenues represented 42 percent oftotal GSM revenues. Smart handled a total of 5.1 billion outbound SMS comparedto 3.8 billion last year. 

 

As a result of improvingcash flows from operations and reduced capex spending, Smart generated positivefree cash flow of Pesos 4.4 billion in the first quarter 2003 compared to anegative free cash flow of Pesos 783 million in the previous year.

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“Smart’s outstanding performance in the first quarter of2003 substantially improves the group’s financial standing,” shared **Pangilinan**.

 

“Smart’s strategy has always been one of offering a host ofinnovative services to as wide a market as possible.  We truly believe that ifwe can keep our costs down, we can keep growing our subscriber base withoutsacrificing profits, “ said **Napoleon L. Nazareno, President and CEO of Smart**.

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FixedLine:  Overcoming the Challenges 
 

Overall fixed line revenues registered a slight increase forthe first quarter of 2003 due to the growth of data and international longdistance revenues compared to the same period last year.  Total revenues from PLDT’sfixed line business increased to Pesos 11.3 billion from last year’s Pesos 11.2billion. PLDT fixed line EBITDA declined to Pesos 6.0 billion in the firstquarter of 2003 mainly due to upfront costs incurred in relation to PLDT’smanpower reduction program.  The fixed line business expects to further reduceheadcount over the balance of 2003.

 

 

 

 

Revenues from data and other network services of the fixedline business rose by 9 percent to Pesos 1.4 billion in the first quarter of2003.  The company’s intiatives  to penetrate the residential data market withPLDT Vibe and myDSL services is expected to drive the growth in this sector.PLDT signed up over 72,000 subscribers for PLDT Vibe and over 11,000subscribers for its myDSL service, extending its leadership in both narrowbandand broadband Internet service. 

 

International long distance revenues rose by 15 percent,from Pesos 2.5 billion in the first quarter of 2002 to Pesos 2.9 billion in2003 due to the increase in settlement rates implemented February of thisyear.  

 

Aware of the challenges that fixed line businesses faceworldwide, PLDT management continued its thrust to contain operating expensesof the business.  In the first quarter of 2003, PLDT improved its fixed linesin service per employee to 177 from 163 in the previous year.  PLDT expects toachieve even greater operational efficiencies as the company reduces headcountto below 10,500 over the balance of the year as a result of its ongoingmanpower reduction program.     

 

Management remains focused on aggressively reducing debt. Inthe first quarter of 2003, PLDT continued to generate strong cash flows whichwere used to reduce its total fixed line debts by US$50 million during theperiod.

 

 

**ePLDT : Generating revenues from investments**

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ePLDT, a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of PLDT and the leading information and communications technology(ICT) company in the Philippines, generated growing revenues from its variousinvestments.  For the first quarter of 2003, ePLDT’s revenues grew by 203percent to Pesos 357 million from Pesos 118 million during the same period lastyear.  

 

Growth drivers for ePLDTinclude its successful venture in the call center business with ParlanceSystems, Inc., and Vocativ Systems, Inc., which generated Pesos 187 million inrevenues; Infocom, the Group’s Internet Service Provider; and Vitro Internet Data Center.

 

 

"Oursolid performance in the first quarter of 2003 reinforces our commitmenttowards enhancing shareholder value, maintaining our leadership position in allour lines of business, and delivering the best service to our consumers,"concluded **Pangilinan**.

 

 

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**For further information, please contact:**

 

AnabelleL Chua                   Anna V Bengzon                   Menardo Jimenez, Jr
Tel No: 816-8213                    Tel No: 816-8024                    TelNo: 816-8468

Fax No: 844-9099                   Fax No: 810-7138                   FaxNo: 893-5174

 

 

**About PLDT**

PLDT is the leadingtelecommunications provider in the Philippines. Through its three principal business groups – fixed line,wireless and information communications technology – PLDT offers a wide rangeof telecommunications services across the Philippines’ most extensive fiber optic backbone and fixed line,cellular and satellite network.

PLDT is listed on the PhilippineStock Exchange (PSE:TEL) and its American depositary shares are listed on theNew York Stock Exchange (NYSE:PHI) and the Pacific Exchange.  PLDT has one ofthe largest market capitalizations among Philippine listed companies.

Further information can be obtainedby visiting the web at www.pldt.com.ph

 

 

 

 

 

 

**SIGNATURES**

 

 

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, theregistrant had duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by theundersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

 

                                  PHILIPPINE LONGDISTANCE TELEPHONE COMPANY

 

 

 

 

                                                 By:  MA. LOURDES C. RAUSA-CHAN

Corporate Secretary
 

 

 

Date:  May 15, 2003