Liberty set to exit rehabilitation

Liberty Telecoms Holdings Inc., a listed provider of high-speed Internet services backed by San Miguel Corp. and Qatar Telecom, has been allowed to exit corporate rehabilitation ahead of December 2016.

A court order from the Makati City Regional Trial Court, dated May 12, 2015, showed that the rehabilitation proceedings were “closed and terminated” as its objectives had been successfully met.

It added that lawyer Monico Jacob had been discharged of his duties as rehabilitation receiver of the petitioner Liberty Telecoms and its units.

“The stay order dated Aug. 19, 2005 is hereby lifted as the approved rehabilitation plan has been fully implemented and petitioners have fully gained and reestablished new life and strength for a new challenge in the business,” a portion of the court order read.

Liberty, which continues to see its deficit swell, last week said in a stock exchange filing that its board had authorized the application “for the early termination of the rehabilitation proceedings pending before the Regional Trial Court.”

The move also covers its subsidiaries wi-tribe Telecoms Inc and Skyphone Logistics.

The company filed in 2005 a petition with the Makati Regional Trial Court for corporate rehabilitation due to lack of capital required to continue its business.

In 2011, the company filed for an extension through Dec. 12, 2016, or until all its debts had been fully paid.

Liberty’s losses have been narrowing.

In the first quarter of 2015, losses hit P210.16 million compared to P307.58 million in 2014.

Liberty’s core revenues, however, continue to fall.

Total service revenues hit P42.17 million, down 46 percent for the first quarter of 2015, which it attributed to a lower average revenue per unit and a decline in subscribers.

That drop was offset by a drop in rental income.

Liberty said expenses were likewise down on a decline in business activity as it cut its workforce by 25 percent in the first quarter and reduced its leased sites late last year.

Costs and expenses slid to P280.9 million from P323.38 million in the same period in 2014.

The company said that in the course of building its subscriber base, the group had incurred losses, increasing its deficit to P10 billion as of March 31, 2015.

“Its major shareholders, however, remain fully committed to support the group’s operations, as clearly shown by the level of financial and operational support already provided,” the filing showed.