BPO firm ePerformax eyes P3.3-B IPO in March

Filipino-owned call center firm ePerformax International Inc. is targeting to list its shares in March this year to raise funds for the continued expansion of its operations.

ePerformax general manager Carlo Severino said the company remains optimistic on the prospects of the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) industry despite an anticipated slowdown of the US economy.      

ePerformax’s planned initial public offering (IPO) of 223 million shares has already been cleared by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The shares will be sold at a maximum price of P15 each to raise as much as P3.345 billion in new capital. Including the over-allotment option of 22 million shares, the company is expected to raise up to P3.675 billion.             

Out of the expected proceeds, ePerformax will receive a maximum of P2.325 billion while the rest will go to selling shareholders Performance Consulting Group Inc., Global e-Business Solutions Inc. and Joint Research & Development Corp.

The net proceeds of the IPO would be used to fund the company’s expansion in Cebu and Manila, working capital requirements, acquisitions and business development and for the repayment of debt.         

Severino said the company is expected to post a 70-80 percent jump in income last year on the back of higher revenues. 

ePerformax, a joint venture between ePerformax US and the Delgado family’s Transnational Diversified Group (TDG), is a pioneering provider of inbound customer care, inbound customer retention and renewal, inbound sales and cross-selling, website-technical support and outbound data verification supporting its base of clients consisting of large US-based Fortune 500 corporations.         

ePerformax reported a 34.45-percent growth in net income in the first nine months of 2007 to P174.54 million from P129.81 million in the same period a year earlier due the increased number of seats.             

The company currently has around 4,000 seats and expects this to double in the near term.            

According to a recent study, the Philippine call center industry is expected to grow to $5 billion by 2010. 

To further grow its business, ePerformax is exploring acquisition opportunities in several fields that would complement its vision for the growth of its knowledge process outsourcing business.