PILIPINO Telephone Corp. (Piltel) may see its share of mobile phone sales, under the Talk ’N Text brand, rise to 65–85 percent from 50 percent currently once the company forges a new revenue-sharing agreement with Smart Communications Inc., said Piltel chairman and Smart president Napoleon Nazareno.

At present, Smart gets half of Piltel’s revenues from Talk ’N Text for allowing the latter access to its network.

«Offhand, I believe it could range somewhere between 65 and 85 percent in favor of Piltel,» Nazareno said when asked on the possible Talk ’N Text revenue-sharing scheme between Piltel and Smart.

The management fees that Smart and parent Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) collect from Piltel may also be reduced, he said.

Piltel is, thus, expected to boost its earnings going forward under its new relationship with Smart, Nazareno said.

Piltel posted a first half to June net profit of 810 million pesos, against a net loss of 535 million in the same period last year, on continued strong cellular subscriber growth and lower financing charges.

PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan earlier said he expects Piltel to post a net profit of over one billion pesos this year, a turnaround from last year’s net loss of 3.35 billion.

Piltel shareholders, at a special meeting last Friday, approved the company’s proposal to increase its authorized capital stock to 12.8 billion pesos from the current 3.5 billion.

Piltel’s capital increase will pave the way for Smart’s acquisition of 92 percent of Piltel within the month.

The acquisition is being done through a combination of equity transfers from Smart parent PLDT, and a debt swap with Piltel creditors.

Nazareno said Smart’s acquisition of control of Piltel will enable it to penetrate the lower-income mobile phone market segment.