By Jochebed B. Gonzales
Senior Researcher
EASYCALL Communications Philippines, Inc. saw its stock price more than double last week amid speculation of a brewing partnership with the incoming major telecommunications provider.
Price of EasyCall shares closed at P18.20 apiece on Thursday, up by 131.3% week on week, data from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed. Year to date, it was higher by 7.7%.
“It hit the ceiling price [last Tuesday and Wednesday],” said Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, research associate at Philstocks Financial, Inc., pertaining to EasyCall’s share price rising 50% for two days straight.
He cited EasyCall’s acquisition of a stake in parent company TDG Ventures, Inc. (TVI) which sparked interest from some investors.
“…EasyCall specializes in providing internet services, something that would come in very handy for Mislatel. However, their possible commercial partnership remains a speculation for the time being since there are no disclosures yet… On the part of EasyCall, however, we’ve not yet seen any expression of interest,” Mr. Tantiangco added.
The Mislatel Consortium — composed of China Telecommunications Corp., Dennis A. Uy’s Udenna Corp. and Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp., as well as franchise holder Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. — was formally announced as the country’s third major telecommunications company on Nov. 19.
“EasyCall was a ‘speculative buy’ among traders [last] week. It saw an accumulation in volume after it bought a stake in TVI, whose reported earnings were seen as positive for [EasyCall]… Those trading this stock are ‘day traders,’ meaning it’s not recommended for conservative players,” Jeng T. Calma, trader at A&A Securities, Inc., said.
Based on PSE data, some 13.6 million EasyCall shares were traded at the exchange from Nov. 26 to 29. Value turnover reached P269.34 million last week.
In an amended disclosure to the bourse on Nov. 26, EasyCall said that its board of directors had approved the P45.09 million investment in TVI consisting of 200,000 shares priced at P225.47 each. This is equivalent to 11.76% stake in TVI.
TVI has 82.68% interest in EasyCall and is the holding arm for the Transnational Diversified Group’s ventures in information and communications technology, lifestyle and travel and tourism.
“Maybe it’s the speculation of a possible joint venture with the third telco,” said Aniceto K. Pangan, trader at Diversified Securities, Inc. “[Mislatel] is not closing off the possibility of getting into partnership with other telcos especially if they have a nationwide coverage of their own system.”
EasyCall was once a major player in telecommunications, particularly in the paging industry, until the onset of short messaging service by mobile phone firms. Presently, the company is engaged in contact center operations and internet services as well as IP broadband solutions through very small aperture terminal (VSAT).
As of end-2017, EasyCall has 11 VSAT installations in the country which service remote communities in Samar, Quezon, Iloilo, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Leyte and Antique.
It also said last January it had been setting up VSAT installations in Zambales, Negros Occidental, Cavite, Bicol, Isabela, Iloilo and Cebu.
In the first nine months of 2018, EasyCall recorded P47.84 million in consolidated service revenues, up 29% from last year’s comparable period. It netted P4.62 million, down 14% year on year.
