PBS in talks for new acquisition
Published:Sunday | September 29, 2019 | 12:25 AM
Productive Business Solutions Limited (PBS), which sells the products and services of large technology providers, is working on a series of projects including a regional acquisition to complement and grow its business.
The company is also exploring ways to reduce its finance charges, which could include debt refinancing.
“The financials do not cosmetically reflect the cash flow that we are generating,” said Chairman Paul Scott on Friday at PBS’ annual general meeting in Kingston.
It was a call for shareholders to look beyond the snapshot financials to the value the company hopes to unlock going forward.
Productive’s revenues grew marginally to US$41.5 million for the June second quarter, compared to US$40.5 million a year earlier. The company continues to suffer from the fallout from political unrest in Nicaragua, formerly its second largest revenue market.
Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation – EBITDA – improved to US$4.6 million, up from US$4.4 million a year earlier. Net profit for the firm doubled from US$372,000 to US$724,000 in the quarter.
PBS distributes Xerox printing products, but it also holds a series of distributorships for other brands. Its services segment includes document solutions; border security; network and IT security solutions; multichannel communication solutions; and smartcard, cash, and electronic solutions.
Scott says that in countries where governments and the private sector underinvest in technology, PBS seeks to fill the gap. PBS operates in 21 countries but earns the bulk of its revenue from 12 territories led respectively by Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, and Jamaica.
“We have an acquisition in the making. It will cover multiple countries, and a big portion of it is in Colombia,” said CEO Pedro Paris, adding that if the deal goes through, it would complement PBS’ existing services.
PBS already operates in Colombia, a country operation that it built from scratch, having turned down the opportunity to acquire a venture as a springboard into that market. Colombia remains one of the fastest growth markets in the region, but PBS’ operations there are not yet profitable due to build-out costs, the company said.