Subex outperforms overall tech sector

Subex Systems has risen 35.46 per cent from Rs 83.60 touched on 31 March to Rs 113.75 on May 9.

Interestingly, while the 30-share BSE Sensitive Index (Sensex) lost 3.23 per cent in the same period, the IT Sector Index lost a solid 20.39 per cent. Daily volumes on the Subex counter have been moving widely between 50,000 shares and 1,50,000 shares on BSE.

Last month, the Bangalore-based telecom software products company allotted 18,87,000 redeemable optionally convertible cumulative preference shares, each with a face value of Rs 98 aggregating Rs 18.49 crore (Rs 185 million) to three of its investors. The investors were Intel Capital Corporation, Toronto Dominion Bank and UTI.

Subex announced, last month, that it won an order from Total Access Communication, Thailand, to deploy its flagship fraud management system, Ranger.

Ranger FMS is a part of Subex's revenue maximisation suite of products and services, RevMax, which has 35 cellular network installations spread over 20 countries in Asia and Africa. Ranger helps operators to curb fraud through the use of innovative subscriber profiling techniques and advanced analytical capabilities. Ranger is also capable of addressing fraud in emerging areas like GPRS and 3G technologies.

Earlier, in February 2003, Subex said that its flagship fraud management system RangerÔ went live at the Sri Lankan GSM operator, MTN Networks.

MTN Networks, Sri Lanka's flagship mobile communications network, operates Dialog GSM, the country's largest cellular network comprising over 200 base stations. It has international roaming facility in over 100 countries and a substantial subscriber base. MTN Networks, an ISO 9001 certified company, is a fully owned subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia Bhd and is the winner of two consecutive GSM World Awards in 2001 and 2002.

Recently, the company announced that it won a contract for the GSM network of Ikatel in the sub-Saharan nation of Mali, to deploy Ranger TM.

At the close of 2002, Subex Systems won a contract for the wireline network of the Senegalese carrier, Sonatel, to deploy its RangerÔ. Sonatel, which has one of the highest penetration rates in sub-Saharan Africa, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sonatel group, which has a strategic partnership with France Telecom. It is also the principal telecommunications service provider in Senegal. Subex, then, did not reveal the size of the order.

Ranger FMS is an end-to-end fraud management system for wireless and wireline networks that has been designed specifically to address fraud in roaming, pre-paid and post-paid environments. The company claims that Ranger FMS is one of the market leaders in this area and part of its revenue maximisation suite. It has already successfully deployed Ranger in Sonatel's wireless network, called Sonatel Mobile, last year.

Subex Systems, founded in 1992, has been providing software solutions for the telecom industry. It is a leading player in the market for revenue maximization solutions for the telecom domain. Its portfolio includes both software services and software products.

Telecom fraud is a significant problem world over as the total fraud losses per annum is in excess of US $ 14 billion. This is expected to grow to US$ 30 billion by 2003 with the implementation of new technologies such as GPRS and UMTS, which offer tremendous opportunities for fraudsters.

The company had acquired IVth Generation, Inc., US in January 2000 and has converted the same into a wholly-owned subsidiary. The subsidiary, renamed as Subex Technologies Inc. operates out of New Jersey, US. Subex acquired the product range of Canada-based Magardi, Inc. in May 2001 and the acquired products have been integrated into the existing product line of Subex. The products and services of Subex are marketed globally, with a particular focus on the US and certain developing countries.

Subex focuses in the revenue maximization arena within the telecom domain with its RevMax suite of products. Subex pioneered the concept of fraud management in the country, through the development and marketing of Ranger. Ranger assists operators detect fraud in the network at an early stage thus limiting the revenue loss that may be suffered by the operator due to fraud and non-payment.

For the third quarter ended 31 December 2002, Subex reported a 2.03% rise in net profit to Rs 1.51 crore (Rs 1.48 crore) on a 15.3 per cent rise in net sales to Rs 17.51 crore (Rs 15.19 crore).

As on 31 December 2002, promoters held 54.75 per cent stake in Subex, while public and domestic institutions held 30.35 per cent and 1.76 per cent, respectively.