R&A targets RM1b revenue

Over the next 12 months, the company is expected to expand into at least two new countries which may include Indonesia, Australia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Vietnam.


Shah Alam: R&A Telecommunication Group Bhd, which expects revenue to hit as much as RM100 million this year, hopes to join the billion ringgit club within the next five years as it expands its global presence.

"I think the RM1 billion revenue target is quite achievable in five years. We are in a huge industry and there's still a lot of opportunities for us locally and internationally," said R&A chief executive officer Francis Tan in an interview with Business Times.

He said that the jump to the RM1 billion revenue target would not be a "one-hit wonder", as the company plans to hit the target via growing its revenue gradually each year.

"We believe revenue growth would be sustainable," said Tan.

Over the next 12 months, the company is expected to expand into at least two new countries which may include Indonesia, Australia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Vietnam.

"We are in final stages of registration process for Indonesia now," he said.

In 2010, the company posted a revenue of RM38 million with a net profit of RM5.3 million. Its total borrowings was only RM7.8 million.

This year, it hopes revenue to touch between RM70 million and RM100 million.

Tan said the target is achievable as it expects to do more jobs for mobile operators and telecommunications equipment vendors.

The company specialises in designing and engineering solutions for telecommunications network.

Its job scope includes helping mobile operators do build base station towers, acquire sites, as well as maintain the equipment installed in the base stations.

The company's clients are mostly mobile operators as well as local telecommunications equipment vendors.

"We not only help our clients to maintain their equipment, but we also have the expertise to optimise it.

"Our staff are skilled and have gone through proper training by the vendors," he added.

Tan said that mobile operators today are trying to operate more efficiently and would prefer to outsource its maintenance work to a vendor which has the know-how on various brand equipment.

"We also provide 24-7 onsite services. In case something goes wrong with an equipment in one of the base stations, we can provide the support," he added.

With mobile operators today are more open to tower-sharing to lower its cost, R&A believes it could be a beneficiary to the trend.

"This means mobile operators may need to relocate their telecommunications equipment to another base station, which also means that there's work for us," Tan explained.

The company, which is listed on the ACE Market following the reverse takeover of KZen Solutions Bhd, said it is keen to expand beyond the Asia-Pacific region in five years.

"We want to be a global player. Our vendors, which are telecommunications equipment makers, know that we have the right skills set and tools to do the maintenance and optimisation jobs. So, I believe the sky is the limit for us," Tan said.