Voyager needs to build up scale to turn around losses

MANILA, Philippines — Technology unit Voyager Innovations Inc. will need to build up its scale in the next few years before it will see a turnaround in losses, PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan said. 

“I think you have to build up the scale first before you could see the prospects have turned around,” Pangilinan told reporters on the sidelines of PLDT’s financial briefing Thursday.

PLDT reported its core income dropped five percent to P26.2 billion in 2018 due to a P3-billion loss in Voyager Innovations. 

Excluding Voyager, the telcos core income posted a three percent rise to P24.4 billion in 2018.

“Let’s push it as hard as we can, and determine after x months (If there will be a turnaround in losses). I don’t think its this year, but 2020 or latest 2021, (we will see if) there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” Pangilinan said.

In November 2018, Voyager Innovations welcomed new investors leading global investment firm KKR & Co.; Tencent, a leading global internet-based technology enterprise based in China;  and the IFC and IFC Emerging Asia Fund, the investment arm in Asia of the International Fund Corp. of the World Bank Group.  

These new investors infused $215 million in new funding for Voyager, the largest investment so far in a Philippine technology company.  

PLDT remains the largest single shareholder with an ownership stake of just under 50 percent in Voyager.

Asked if PLDT is open to selling more shares of Voyager to other investors, Pangilinan said this is unlikely.

“The volume of businesses is being pushed hard by all of us, KKR, Tencent and I think we’re seeing signs of at least in the PayMaya business, the core of business, growing in both subcount and multivalue users, and value throughput to their system,” Pangilinan said.

“We anticipate that we to continue to grow each month of this year and the unfortunate side effect of it is that the losses will be significant,” he added.

As for new targets for Voyager, in line with the entry of the new investors, Pangilinan said there are already certain metrics they have agreed on.