Pacific Online mulls IPO to fund expansion

By Honey Madrilejos-Reyes

Reporter

PACIFIC Online Systems Corp., the lottery systems and terminal supplier of state-owned Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in Visayas and Mindanao, plans to go public this March.          

In an interview on Tuesday, Pacific Online chairman and president Willy Ocier said the company has already filed its application for an initial public offering (IPO) with the stock exchange.   

"Our stock market is bullish, the peso is strong, and the Philippine economy is looking great. We feel that it is the right time to share our vision and blessings with a wider investor base," he said.       

Pacific Online is targeting to raise P250 million from the IPO, which it plans to use to fund the expansion of its network. The amount represents 25 percent of the company's P1-billion market capitalization.             

According to Ocier, the domestic offering would be composed of primary and secondary shares, but did not elaborate on the details.                 

"All the three shareholders of the company have expressed their intent to sell part of their shares but I cannot say the figures yet. Those details are still being evaluated by our underwriters BDO Capital and Asian Alliance," he explained.            

Pacific Online is 43-percent owned by Bell Corp., 37 percent by Abacus Consolidated and 20 percent by the Tanjong Group of Malaysia.                 

The company has an eight-year exclusive supply contract with PCSO, which began last year. It currently operates 900 terminals in Visayas and Mindanao. With fresh IPO capital, Pacific Online expects to further raise the number of its terminals to 1,500 by the middle of the year.                

Last year, Ocier said the company's gross revenues exceeded P400 million versus P340 million in 2005. Unaudited net profit, on the other hand, amounted to P70 million.            

Total online lottery sales of PCSO in Visayas and Mindanao amounted to P4.04 billion last year, a hefty increase over the 2005 sales levels of P3.37 billion.       

"PCSO Vis-Min Lotto sales have been growing at an average of 27 percent per year in the past five years," Ocier said.            

With the planned expansion, the company hopes to end the year with a net income of P100 million.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/01102007/companies04.html