Ayala electronics unit eyes billion-dollar revenues by ’16

MANILA, Philippines - Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) of conglomerate Ayala Corp. aims to become a billion-dollar company in terms of revenues by 2016.

The company, the 20th largest provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) in the world, will spend $18 million this year to expand regional operations, its top executives said yesterday.

In a briefing, IMI president and CEO Arthur Tan said the company targets to reach the $1-billion revenue mark in 2016 by serving more energy, mobility, power, healthcare, industrial and security firms.

Last year, IMI recorded a 15-percent growth in consolidated sales revenues to $661.8 million from $575.5 million a year earlier “on acquisitions as well as business expansion of key customers.”

Its consolidated income grew more than 60 percent to $5.4 million from $3.3 million due to acquisitions and new customers.

Tan said IMI allotted $18 million for its capital expenditures this year, up from $16 million in 2012.

Specifically, IMI has lined up expansion programs in Mexico and Bulgaria while it tries to improve efficiencies in the Philippines and in China where cost of labor is increasing.

“In the Philippines, we are trying to optimize the different locations that we have,” Tan said.

IMI is now the 20th largest EMS provider in the world in terms of revenues, according to US-based EMS trade publication Manufacturing Market Insider. The company’s ranking improved from 24th in the previous list.

It has a total of 17 manufacturing facilities in the Philippines, China, Singapore, US, Mexico, Bulgaria and Czech Republic.

IMI will focus on seizing opportunities in global growth markets to ensure business expansion and profitability.

“We will look more aggressively for pockets of growth in every region, even as we continue to leverage our presence in China, whose economy is expected to continue growing at a fast rate of more than eight percent in 2013,” Tan said.

“We will also capitalize on the trend of return to regionalization as original equipment manufacturers in North America and Europe aim to lower their total cost of production,” Tan added.

IMI said it will continue to leverage on the trend of increasing electronic content in vehicles, the emerging applications of electronics in industrial and medical industries, the developments in LED lighting, and the rise of even more sophisticated connectivity devices.

Meanwhile, officials said IMI will remain listed in the local bourse.

IMI chief finance officer Jerome Tan told reporters that the company will conduct a follow-on offering late this year or early next year. He added that IMI is seeing good signs in the stock market to date.

The Ayala-led firm listed by way of introduction in 2010.