Extraordinary expenses drag call center operator's earnings

MANILA, Philippines- Extraordinary expenses significantly reduced the bottomline of contact center operator eTelecare Global Solutions in the quarter ending September. In a report to regulators, the company said its net income for the July to September period reached $1.6 million, about 67-percent lower than the $4.8 million its posted in the same months in 2007. "Third-quarter net income included a $1.3 million one-time expense for professional fees associated with the negotiation and execution of a definitive acquisition agreement with EGS Acquisition Co LLC, a Delaware limited liability company jointly owned by affiliates of Ayala Corp. and Providence Equity Partners Inc.,.. as well as a $300,000 one-time expense attributable to startup costs and transaction fees associated with eTelecare Nicaragua...," the company said. In September, Ayala Corp., one of the country’s largest business groups, announced it was buying, together with Providence Equity , eTelecare shares for $9 apiece. In the second quarter of the year, eTelecare said rising costs and expenses pulled down its bottomline by 90 percent to $682,000. The company has earlier announced that it is targeting a net income of $8 million to $10 million this year, more than half lower than a year earlier. eTelecare is a provider of business process outsourcing on the complex, voice and non-voice based segment of customer-care services. Services are provided from delivery centers in the Philippines, North America, and Latin America. GMANews.TV