Fil-Hispano sets record date for P300-M stock rights offer

Fil-Hispano Holdings Corp. has set Aug. 29 as the record date of shareholders qualified to subscribe to its stock rights offering, estimated to raise P300 million to bankroll its expansion program.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Fil-Hispano said qualified shareholders are entitled to buy one new share for every two shares held at P1, a deep discount to the P7.80 closing price of its shares yesterday.

Fil-Hispano said the offering, which will be underwritten by Asian Alliance Investment Corp., will start on Sept. 8 and run until Sept. 16.

Proceeds from the issue will be used to fund its expansion and planned acquisitions.

Fil-Hispano, the first and only call center listed on the exchange, is considering expanding in Malaysia, Singapore, China, India, Australia, and the United Kingdom to maximize the use of call centers that are now primarily used at night to service US clients and in turn increase return on assets.

At present, 80 percent of Fil-Hispano’s call center business is coming from the US.

To ensure a steady and stronger platform for growth, Fil-Hispano is studying the possibility of going into the medical and legal transcription outsourcing business.

From only 700 call center seats in 2003, Fil-Hispano’s call center unit Advanced Contact Solutions Inc. (ACS) now has a total of 2,800 seats as of end-March this year and is looking at ending the year with 3,000 call center seats with its continued expansion.

ACS currently has three world-class facilities: at the Citibank Center in Makati City, The Allied Bank building in Makati, and in Cabuyao, Laguna. It is looking at Cubao, Libis, Alabang and Ortigas as future sites for expansion.

With the expansion in place, Fil-Hispano is expecting its net income to more than double this year to around P270 million from P119.5 million in 2004. Revenues are also seen to grow to P1.3 billion from only P647 million last year on existing call center contracts alone.