Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) today announced a follow-on contract with Jupiter Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (J:COM), Japan’s largest cable provider. The contract comes just over a year since Amdocs acquired DST Innovis Inc. and DST Interactive Inc. for $238 million, with the clear intention of expanding its provision of billing and customer services solutions to cable and satellite broadcasters. The size of the contract was not disclosed, but market sources estimate it at several million dollars.
J:COM provides cable TV and broadband Internet, wireline, wireless and IP-based voice services. Under the follow-on contract, Amdocs will provide J:COM with billing and customer relations management (CRM) services through 2009. In 1995, J:COM signed the original contract with DST, which Amdocs acquired in 2005. Before extending the contract, J:COM examined other options. Market sources believe that Comverse Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: CMVT) competed for the contract. BillingSoft Japan, Amdocs' business partner, will be the systems integrator.
Amdocs chief marketing officer Michael Matthews said, "For service providers to move towards multi-play and realize a more profitable future, they need to put the customer at the center of their business. J:COM is striving to do just that, as it continues to work with Amdocs to provide a personalized experience to its customers across all touch-points."
Through mergers and acquisitions, J:COM has grown to win a 30% share of the Japanese cable TV market - 8.1 million households. Amdocs provides similar billing and CRM systems for Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA), DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE: DTV), Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RG; TSX: RCI), and Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE:CVC).
Amdocs, a provider of software and services for integrated customer management, has a market cap of $7.9 billion. The company’s share has risen 15% in the past three months, and almost 40% since January. The company posted a record $626.4 million revenue and a net earnings per share of $0.49 for its third fiscal quarter, ending in June. The company expects to post a profit of almost $2.5 billion for its 2006 fiscal year.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on September 7, 2006
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