Philippines' PLDT forecasts 2015 profit drop on higher costs

* Core net profit guidance for 2015 down 6.4 pct from 2014 * Marketing costs, depreciation weigh on profit * Rival Globe Telecom more than doubles net profit (Adds comment from company official, details, background) By Neil Jerome Morales MANILA, March 3 (Reuters) - Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) forecast its 2015 net profit to fall for the third consecutive year, hurt by depreciation charges and marketing expenses related to a free mobile data offer aimed at retaining subscribers. PLDT, partly owned by Japan's NTT Docomo Inc and Hong Kong's First Pacific Co Ltd, said on Tuesday it expected a net profit this year of 35 billion pesos ($794.2 million), 6.4 percent lower than a year ago. "Beyond 2015, we see brighter prospects for PLDT," Chairman Manuel Pangilinan told reporters after the company reported a 3 percent drop in its core net profit for 2014. "Our 2014 performance reflects the combined effect of the intense domestic competitive situation and the changing global landscape," he added. PLDT, the country's oldest and largest telecom firm, launched the free data offer last year to counter a similar deal which smaller rival Globe Telecom started offering in late 2013. PLDT said mobile data revenues increased 63 percent year-on-year, as users paid for data that exceeded the offer's limit. But that was insufficient to offset marketing expenses and depreciation costs which rose 3.4 percent last year as it has yet to complete a network upgrade. Globe Telecom, however, reported a doubling in its 2014 net profit to a record high 13.4 billion pesos, mainly due to a drop in depreciation costs after it completely upgraded its network. "Globe is winning the mobile data and broadband battle," said Miguel Agarao, analyst at Wealth Securities Inc in Manila, adding that PLDT's bottomline will continue to be pressured by higher depreciation costs. About a third of PLDT's 69.9 million mobile phone subscribers use smartphones, slightly higher than the 26 percent of Globe's 44 million mobile subscribers. PLDT shares closed 0.06 percent lower at 3,098 pesos, compared to a 0.03 percent gain for the benchmark index. ($1 = 44.0700 Philippine pesos) (Additional reporting by Tripti Kalro in BENGALURU; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Miral Fahmy)