PHP odbc translation

I'm using a php script to get data via odbc (both db and Php - in Pase
mode - are on the same Iseries).

If I run this query :
"select  Code, trim(FirstName) concat LastName from Table"
I get the correct result for both fields returned, apart that FirstName and
LastName are joined together.

But if I run this:
"select  Code, trim(FirstName) concat ' ' concat LastName from Table"
I get the correct result for Code but ebcdic untraslated data for the second
column.

However if I code:
"select  Code, trim(FirstName) concat substr(FirstName, 30, 1) concat
LastName from Table" (assuming that position 30 of Firstame is a blank) I
get FirstName and LastName separated by one blank char in readable form.

Does anybody has got such a problem ?

Thanks.
Beppe.