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THE outsourcing unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. on
Tuesday said it pushed back its plan to sell shares for the first
time to the public due to market volatility and operational issues
in its medical transcription business.
“We have decided to postpone it this year
because of the market condition,” Ray C. Espinosa, ePLDT president
and chief executive said.
SPi Technologies (SPi), ePLDT’s knowledge
processing arm, had announced that it will list in the local bourse
this year.
Besides the current market condition, the
company is also struggling with operational issues in its medical
transcription business in the US, Espinosa said.
The ePLDT executive provided no other details.
“We need to build significant capacities to
reach the productivity required,” he however said.
SPi operates in the Philippines, the US, India
and Vietnam.
In the first quarter this year, the company’s
revenues reached P1.3 billion.
“The outlook for SPi’s main verticals
varies, with publishing and medical billing looking to continue
their strong performance, legal discovery breaking even and focusing
on stepping up sales efforts to maximize fixed overhead, and medical
transcription continuing to work on improving productivity and
margins,” Espinosa said.
“We are proceeding with the integration of SPi
and Ventus which we anticipate will result in improved margins. Our
other businesses, though smaller in scale and in revenue
contribution, are holding their own and will provide opportunities
for growth in the future,” he added.
-- Darwin G. Amojelar
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