IT-BPO Services Industry Sustains Double-Digit Growth in 2012

Manila — The country’s IT-BPO services industry remained robust in 2012, as shown by the results of the Survey of Information Technology-Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) Services conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Revenues from the industry continued to register double-digit growth during the year, albeit at a decelerated rate of 11.4 percent compared to the 20.1 percent posted in 2011.

Total revenues of the industry rose to US$ 13.5 billion in 2012 from US$ 12.1 billion in the previous year.

All sub-sectors of the industry (namely, contact centers, transcription, animation, software development and other BPOs) registered positive growth rates in revenues in 2012.

The country’s Contact Centers, which sustained its position as the global leader in voice services, remained the key driver of growth, accounting for 56.4 percent of the industry’s total revenues.

Export receipts of the industry reached US$ 12.5 billion, expanding by 12 percent from the previous year’s level of US$ 11.2 billion.

Total exports represented 93 percent of the industry’s revenues, a slight increase from 92.4 percent posted in 2011.

More than half of the industry’s total export receipts continued to be captured by Contact Centers, at 56.5 percent (or US$ 7.1 billion).

The U.S. remained the biggest export market, accounting for three-fourths of the industry’s total exports.

Equity capital investments in the local IT-BPO industry in end-2012 reached US$ 7.3 billion, 95 percent of which (or US$ 7.0 billion) was infused from foreign sources.

All the industry sub-sectors registered higher foreign-to-total equity ratios compared to those in the previous year.

Employment in the country’s IT-BPO industry totaled 769,932, a 13.3 percent increment over the 679,494 level posted a year ago.

Contact Centers absorbed the bulk of the industry’s employment for 2012 at 63.4 percent.

Likewise, Contact Centers had the biggest contribution (at 8 percentage points) to the industry’s 13.3 percent employment growth in 2012.

Aggregate compensation received by workers in the industry rose to US$ 6.8 billion in 2012, up by 18.5 percent from the US$ 5.8 billion recorded in the previous year.

Annual average compensation per employee in 2012 also grew by 4.5 percent to US$ 8,849 (or P373,662) from US$ 8,464 (or P366,618) in 2011.

The survey covered a total of 958 IT-BPO companies in 2012 from 854 in 2011. Overall response rate was 58.8 percent.

Survey respondents covered companies engaged in the operations of call centers, medical and legal transcription, animation, software development and other BPOs.

These companies are members of the various IT-BPO associations and companies registered with attached agencies of the Department of Trade and Industry, namely, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the Board of Investments. (PNA)