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NEWS RELEASE
JANUARY 29, 2009
FRESH START AT TdC,
RESTRUCTURING TO COMMENCE
KUALA LUMPUR, January 29 –TIME dotCom Berhad’s (TdC)
turnaround bid will see it undertaking a corporate renewal exercise
spanning operations, culture and training, a process which may take
between 18 to 24 months.
This was revealed by the company’s new management team, led by
Chief Executive Officer; Afzal Abdul Rahim, at a briefing today,.
“The main focus in the last four months, was to assess TdC’s
operational and financial status, with findings that revealed we are
lagging behind competitors and the industry in both operations and
service offering.“ Afzal said.
“According to a Malaysian Communications and Multimedia
Commission (MCMC) report, the country’s telecommunications market
had, in the first quarter 2007, reported revenue growth of 13.8 percent
or RM8.5 billion. TdC, however, has not been able to meet or surpass
this growth, indicating that to turn the ailing company around; it needs a
complete overhaul from the ground up.”
The turnaround plans of TdC, approved by its board last week will,
according to Afzal, concentrate on several areas aimed at positioning
and upgrading current businesses that are relevant to TdC’s revenue.
The restructuring will address basic issues such as strengthening core
competencies, nurturing talent and restoring its engineering pedigree.
The telecommunications service provider will focus on its more lucrative
operations with greater growth potential that is data service offerings in
the wholesale, enterprise and corporate market segments.
“The new focus will allow us to optimize our existing infrastructure,
which has been inefficiently deployed over the years, as well as take
advantage of the many opportunities currently available in the market
place.”
More…
-2TdC’s new business focus is inline with findings from research firm,
Frost & Sullivan, which reported that Internet Protocol (IP) based
services will form the majority of demand, whilst a steady decline is
expected in switch voice traffic due to increased migration of voice and
data traffic onto IP.
Research report from Telegeography states that Malaysia’s market
share of bandwidth requirements are expected to grow from 38 Giga
bits per second (Gbps) in 2007 to 253 Gbps in 2012.
TdC’s restructuring will also include aggressive cost cutting measures.
The company has relocated its headquarters from Wisma TIME at the
heart of Kuala Lumpur to its existing engineering facility located in
Glenmarie Industrial Park in Shah Alam.
Afzal added that TdC will be implementing other cost saving efforts
such as a reassessment of its capital expenditure, freeze of new hire
and advertising. It will also review contracts with several vendors in the
area of networks and equipment maintenance.
The initiative, which is set to save TdC more than RM3.5 million
annually commencing financial year ending 2009, will not only assist in
the turnaround bid but also allow it to withstand the onslaught of the
current local and global financial downturn.
Another of TdC’s restructuring measures is the re-training of its
personnel where 30 percent of its 953 staff, mainly from its sales and
technical divisions, will undergo extensive training.
“People are the backbone of TdC and it is only appropriate that we
equip them with the latest and appropriate knowledge to represent the
company to existing and potential clients,” explained the CEO.
Since his appointment in early October last year, Afzal has instituted a
number of changes in TdC including divesting its payphone business –
TIME Reach Sdn Bhd (TRSB) – to Paycomm Sdn. Bhd. in December
last year for a cash consideration of RM8.3 million.
He has also executed a de-layering exercise aimed at eliminating
organizational bureaucracy and improving the company’s management
structure which saw the departure of 20 senior personnel.
More…
-3The telecommunications provider is also beefing up its executive ranks
with the appointment of several top posts – positions that were vacant
before. These include the position of Chief Operating Officer, Chief
Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Sales – with
appointments for the latter three taking effect next month.
TdC made headlines recently when it sold 2.9 percent of its stake in
DiGi.Com Bhd for RM461 million. The sale, which reduces TdC’s
holding in DiGi to 7.1 percent, is necessary said Afzal as it allowed the
company to pare down its debts.
The sale resulted in TdC lowering its net gearing from 0.48 times to
0.25 times. As at Dec 31, 2007, TdC’s total borrowings which stood at
RM1.09 billion would now be reduced to RM626.81 million.
Afzal also announced at a briefing for TdC’s decoupling exercise with
UEM Group Berhad, that the move will allow TdC to institute its own
work culture that best fits its operations.
Commenting on TdC’s turnaround timeframe, Afzal added, “As the
company has to undergo an extensive restructuring process, the
turnaround of the company will not happen in the blink of an eye.
“2009 will be spent retooling and renewing the organization with the
skills, processes and functional discipline it requires to acquire
meaningful market share. TdC should start realizing the gains of its
turnaround initiatives by 2010.”
About TIME dotCom Berhad (www.time.com.my):
TIME dotCom is a communications solutions provider offering a complete and
comprehensive range of services to both domestic and international markets from
voice and data communications to broadband, Internet, global managed services,
and various multimedia solutions.
- Ends Issued by TIME dotCom Berhad
29 January 2009
For further information, kindly contact Zalinda Zainon at
Tel: +603-50326213 / 019 3319896, Fax: +603-50326010
Or Email:[email protected]