Philippines’ Xurpas enters Indonesia, acquires stake in mobile content provider

Philippine tech company Xurpas has announced yet another acquisition, this time of a mobile content provider in Indonesia, marking its first foray into the country.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Xurpas said it bought 49 percent of PT Sembilan Digital Investama, parent of Ninelives Interactive, for US$245,000.

The Indonesian companies are engaged in mobile content development and distribution, the same business as Xurpas’. They have existing contracts with top carriers such as Telkomsel, as well as XL Axiata and Indosat.

The investment in Indonesia forms part of Xurpas’ strategy of expanding distribution channels for its products in Southeast Asia. It gives Xurpas access to a huge market for its games and other services.

“Indonesia is one of the most exciting mobile markets in the world with close to 300 million subscribers, making it the fourth largest mobile market in the world. Just like the Philippines, majority of users are still on pre-paid but they are rapidly moving away from fixed connections in favor of smartphones and mobile data. The striking similarity between the Indonesian market and ours makes it an ideal location to establish another stronghold,” said Xurpas president and CEO Nix Nolledo in a statement.

Acquisition binge

According to Nolledo, Xurpas is actively talking to entities that would hasten its strategic expansion in Asia, activate other untapped markets, and open revenue gateways for the company.

PT Sembilan Digital is the third company that Xurpas has acquired or invested in since its initial public offering (IPO) in December 2014. A week after its IPO, it bought 21.78 percent of Singapore game development studio Altitude Games for US$740,800. The investment was meant to boost Xurpas’ back-end and strengthen its game publishing and distribution network.

Apart from Altitude, Xurpas also invested in Storm Flex Systems, snapping a 51 percent stake for US$4.3 million, in February. Storm is a tech-driven employee benefits firm that operates an exclusive e-marketplace for its clients. It has created a platform where employees can exchange their core benefits for a wide range of products and services, from gadgets to carpooling.

Net income up in 2014

In the same disclosure, Xurpas announced its 2014 net income jumped 60 percent to P190.72 million (US$4.26 million) from P119.49 million (US$2.67 million) in 2013. Minus one-time charges related to its IPO, Xurpas’ income grew 64 percent.

Revenues, on the other hand, went up 56 percent to P392.22 million (US$8.77 million) in 2014 from P252.06 million (US$5.64 million) in 2013.

These results were largely driven by the company’s mobile consumer business.