By Lorenz S. Marasigan
LISTED media conglomerate Now Corp. is spending $50 million in the next five years for the development of its broadband and wireless cable-television businesses.
In a disclosure to the local bourse, the media company said the amount will then translate to $346 million in revenues and will net roughly $120 million in profits.
“The board also discussed the five-year business plan earmarking a capital expenditure of about $50 million for its broadband and wireless cable-TV business with projected revenue of $346 million and a net income of $120 million by the end of the five-year period,” the filing read.
Without providing specifics, the company said its preliminary year-end total revenue for 2015 “hit positive net income for the first time after years of mergers and acquisitions mainly attributable to the company’s existing businesses, namely, IT Resource Management and Software Collaborations.”
For the quarter ended last September 30, Now Corp. posted gross revenues of P26.7 million compared to P20.02 million in the same quarter in 2014. It was also able to significantly reduce its losses from P20.2 million in the third quarter of 2013 to only P1.3 million in 2014.
In the first nine months of 2014, gross revenues went down to P59.4 million, from P63.2 million in the same period last year. Its net loss dropped from P42.09 million to P19.27 million.
Formerly known as Information Capital Technology Ventures Inc., Now Corp. is engaged in the business of telecommunications, media and technology.
Clients of Now Corp. include Towers Watson, UCPB, Coca-Cola, SC Johnson, International Shared Services, Roxas Holdings, BDO, Chinabank, Philippine National Bank, Development Bank of the Philippines, Golden Arches Development Corp. (McDonald’s), Phinma Group of Companies, SM Retail, Angelicum College, Times Plaza and Metropolitan Medical Center, among others.
Now Corp. has a strategic partnership with a cable-TV provider in Metro Manila, which shall deliver broadband and cable-TV services. It is also a telecommunications, media and technology company of diversified services. The company has a growing international presence in countries such as Japan, the US and the UK.
It plans to invest roughly $48 million to expand its business to introduce a text-only telecommunications player and set up its own broadband service in the Philippines.