By Janina C. Lim, Reporter
U-Bix Corp. expects revenues to grow by between 11-15% this year, driven by its printing business and services management arm.
In a Thursday press conference in Makati City, U-Bix Executive Vice-President and Chief Finance Officer Leah Barcas said the company’s topline grew by 11% year on year to over P2 billion in 2018.
Revenues were mainly driven by sales of printing machines, its primary business. Preliminary results showed sales of printing machines reached P960 million in 2018, doubling from 2017 levels.
Revenues from U-Bix subsidiary Facilities Managers, Inc. (FMI) surged 29% to breach the P1-billion mark.
“Moving forward for 2019, we’re expecting at least of the same amount on terms of percentage (revenue growth), between 11-15%,” Ms. Barcas said.
U-Bix Director Mary Ann Bravo-Civil said the company sees further growth in its printing businesses, particularly production printers and multi-function copiers.
“We’re definitely seeing some growth in color (printing) but there’s also the production printing side which is really about commercial printers,” Ms. Bravo-Civil said, noting that new products will be launched this year.
The midterm elections may also help boost this year’s sales but will not be a major growth driver due to campaign period limitations, she added.
“We are really setting our sights in what we have in the branches. Of course Metro Manila will always remain a core contributor to our revenues. It’s been really pleasing to see the progress that were seeing in our regional operations so we will be focusing on that quite aggressively in the coming year,” Ms. Bravo-Civil added.
FMI Service Master Managing Director Demosthenes C. Doplayna said 2019 is also expected to deliver “the same double-digit” results from 2018 with growth continuing to be driven by the advancement of cleaning technologies in its biggest segments: health and the business process outsourcing industry.
U-Bix is the exclusive distributor of Konica Minolta digital production printing and multi-function machines. The company also distributes Riso digital duplicators and Okamura furniture office systems.
U-Bix also purchased Kodak Philippines Ltd.’s Kodak Imaging Center which now operates as U-Bix Imaging Center.
The firm, through FMI, also has franchise agreements with United States-based companies such as Service Master, which deals with facilities maintenance; Terminix on pest control products and services; and Merry Maids, for home-cleaning services.
The U-Bix Group owns the Bravo Hotel & Golf Course and Munting Paraiso Beach Resort, both found in Dumaguete; the Blue Wave Inn Beach in Siquijor; and the U-Bix Institute of Technology.
