Globe acquires full ownership of Asticom

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. has acquired 100 percent ownership of Asticom Technology Inc. as part of efforts to beef up its presence in the information and communication technology (ICT) business.

Marisalve Ciocson-Co, compliance officer and vice president for legal services of Globe, informed the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that the company signed an agreement with the major shareholders of Asticom Technology last June 3.

Under the agreement, Globe would acquire the 49 percent stake of Azalea Technology Inc. as well as the 51 percent of SCS Computer Systems in Asticom Technology.

Azalea Technology is a wholly-owned subsidiary of conglomerate Ayala Corp. while SCS Computer is a subsidiary of Singapore Telecom.

Asticom is a systems integrator and information technology services provider to domestic and international markets.

 â€œGlobe’s acquisition of Asticom is in line with its strategy to expand its business operations in the information technology space,” Ciocson-Co said.

Globe’s core income grew nine percent to P3.4 billion in the first quarter of the year from P3.1 billion in the same period last year as service revenues rose 8.4 percent to P23.2 billion from P21.4 billion.

The solid revenue gains in the first quarter were traced to the strong contributions across all business segments given the growth in both mobile and broadband customer bases, the sustained demand for data connectivity and the introduction of market-relevant promotions.

Globe president Ernest Cu earlier said the company was able to sustain top-line growth momentum in the first quarter of the year.

“We have also seen encouraging improvements in mobile browsing in terms of activity and number of users as a result of the successful Free Facebook promotion and we hope to see continuous growth in mobile Internet adoption among our customers moving forward,” Cu said.

On the other hand, the company’s net income jumped 350 percent to P2.95 billion in the first quarter from P656 million in the same period last year.

 Total mobile subscriber base reached 40.7 million at the end of the first quarter this year, from 35.1 million a year ago.

 Globe has earmarked between $600 million and $650 million for its capital expenditures this year.