S i2i, the Singapore-listed telecom and technology company of the $2-billion Spice Group, has completed the process of restructuring and is expected to generate operating profits by the December quarter.
“The shift from 2G to 3G in key Asian markets affected us. Moreover, we had issues with the past management as they had kept a lot of inventory on the books at a time when technology was changing rapidly. Now all that is behind us and by the October quarter, we will be close to break even,” Bhupendra Kumar Modi, Chairman of S i2i (formerly Spice i2i), told Business Line .
S i2i operates in two main segments, namely mobility and technology.
In mobility, the company is primarily involved in the business of procuring and selling mobile handsets. S i2i Mobility holds a 71.17 per cent stake in S Mobility, a BSE-listed company, which manufactures telecom handsets for the Indian market. S Mobility was also bleeding the last fiscal, but has now turned around, said Modi.
For the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2013, S i2i posted a net loss of $11.4 million as against $115.7 million a year ago. Over the last several years, S i2i had become a prominent player in the mobile handset space by acquiring brands such as CSL (Malaysia), Wellcom (Thailand) and Nexian. Modi says that the most officials that had come on board following the acquisition are no longer with the company. A fresh operational team has been constituted.
“The previous management was working with a lot of suppliers and hence they had accumulated a lot of inventory. The suppliers, in turn, pushed the inventory, which they could not sell as technology changes rendered them obsolete. We had to dispose of inventory at throw away prices,” said Modi.
The Malaysia and Singapore operations have already become profitable, while its business in Thailand is recovering as plan, he added.