Ionics gets offer to buy US unit

Electronics and semiconductor manufacturer Ionics Inc. has received offers to buy its US-based subsidiary, Ionics USA, a company official told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Corporate secretary Manuel Roxas said the company’s board of directors has authorized its chairman Lawrence Qua to negotiate with prospective buyers, adding that they do not foresee that the eventual sale will adversely affect the financial statements of the parent firm.

The decision to sell off its US unit is also seen as a move to consolidate the company’s operations in the Philippines, on the back of the strong performance of its Singapore-listed main subsidiary Ionics EMS.

Ionics is principally engaged in the manufacture and assembly of electronic components and sub-assembly under contract from foreign companies. Among its products are disk drives, chip-on-board, printed circuit board, remote control devices, bridge rectifier and light emitting diode (LED) cards.

The Silicon Valley-based Ionics USA operates an assembly line which generated over $50 million in revenues last year. Ionics EMS, meanwhile, led the group with revenues of P13.2 billion last year, a hefty 263-percent surge from the previous year.

Its net income grew 22 percent from P540 million in 2000 to P660 million last year, on the back of higher sales and contribution of new margins from the turnkey business.

"The company’s timely pursuit of the strategic shift to full turnkey EMS services and supply chain management for original equipment manufacturers (OEM) have enabled it to bring in positive results and cushion the impact of the global economic slowdown," Qua said. – Conrado Diaz Jr.