Abacore owns an 18.23% stake in Pacific Online Systems Corporation (POSC). POSC leases online betting equipment to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) for the latter’s lottery operations in Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin).
POSC utilizes the computer hardware and operating system software provided by Scientific Games International (SGI), an Irish company. The versatile AEGIS™ operating system can connect using both landline and wireless telecommunications networks and is therefore well suited to the “hybrid” telecommunications backbone existing in the Philippines. It has the added advantage of enabling PCSO to open betting outlets in areas without landline connection.
Developments in POSC’s business have been especially brisk starting 2007. The year saw the installation of a total of 504 new terminals, bringing the total number of terminals in the VisMin area to almost 1,500. In July 2007, POSC launched the “Instant Scratch Lottery” with the introduction of the Triple Cash and Money Bags games, to which were added two new variants, the P200,00 Payday and the Lucky 8’s games in January 2008. In September 2007, POSC completed its acquisition of Lucky Circle Corporation (LCC), with exclusive rights to lotto outlets in SM Supermalls nationwide. LCC had 48 lotto outlets as of end 2007 and expects to increase this to 75 in 2008. POSC has also joined forces with Prime Gaming Management Corporation and Wolfpac Mobile to launch the “Second Chance Lotto Test Panalo Promo”, a game that makes use of the network of Smart and Talk-n-Text to provide lotto players a second chance to win raffle prizes via short-message-service (SMS) or texting.
Lotto sales in Visayas and Mindanao have registered a steady increase, resulting in increasing lease revenues for POSC of P333 million in 2005, P402 million in 2006 and P480 million in 2007. Projected full-year net income for 2007 is P170 million.
POSC was listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange on April 12, 2007. The initial public offering consisted of 39,800,000 shares which were sold at the opening price of P8.88 per share. Proceeds from the offering will be used for capital expenditures and working capital requirements.
