Tarun GeorgeTecnocom, Telecomunicaciones y Energia SA, Spain’s second-largest computer-services company, may see “spectacular” earnings growth with new projects in Latin America and is planning acquisitions, Chief Executive Officer Javier Martin said.
Tecnocom will have “great organic growth,” this year, helped by increased demand from the financial industry and telecommunications operators in Latin America, Martin said in a phone interview. It will soon announce projects in Latin America valued at several million dollars, boosting its revenue this year “in a significant way,” he said
“If things get settled, we’ll have a lot to say, as earnings growth will be spectacular,” 45-year-old Martin said.
The CEO forecast that sales may climb 10 percent in 2011, with Tecnocom’s biggest clients inSpain maintaining or boosting investment. The company aims to increase its international revenue to more than 30 percent in 2012 from a possible 15 percent this year, Martin said.
The company’s clients include large banks, industrial companies and the government. Madrid-based Tecnocom’s main businesses include outsourcing, consulting services and network- integration systems.
The company is studying opportunities for acquisitions and “is ready” to buy as many as three businesses in 2011, assuming the market stabilizes and demand picks up, Martin said.
Latin America Acquisition
Tecnocom wants to buy a company in Latin America with more than $100 million in revenue and operations in several countries. It’s also studying two or three smaller companies in Latin America with $5 million to $10 million in sales and another two in Spain of similar size, Martin said, without giving more details.
“We still have to do many things” in Latin America “and have to do them quickly,” Martin said.
Tecnocom is the biggest Spanish computer-services provider after Indra Sistemas SA. It has acquired about 10 companies since May 2005, when Martin became CEO. After the 2008 crisis, Tecnocom, whose software manages about 100 million credit cards, focused on reducing costs and held back from acquisitions, Martin said.
The company is “comfortable” with its level of debt and is ready to continue buying companies, after acquiring an 80 percent stake in ProceCard SA in October and agreeing in December to buy Primma Software SL for 4 million euros ($5.25 million), Martin said.
Tecnocom will continue paying a dividend to shareholders and wants to increase it in the medium term as it’s still “quite low,” Martin said.
The company was founded in 1967 as a maker of engines for washing machines. It operates in eight countries in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America.
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