The Securities and Exchange Commission approved the plan of nickel miner Global Ferrnonickel Holdings Inc. to sell P1 billion worth of shares.
SEC commissioner Ephyro Luis Amatong said in an interview the corporate regulator approved the mining firm’s planned follow-on offering in an en banc meeting last week.
Under the plan, GNFI will sell up to 250 million shares at P4 apiece.
Abacus Capital and Investments Corp. is the sole underwriter and issue manager for the deal.
Net proceeds from the offering will be used for partial payment of the outstanding loans of subsidiary Platinum Group Metals Corp. from Taiwan Cooperative Bank and for working capital purposes for operations of the Cagdianao mine in Surigao del Norte province.
Offer period was tentatively set on Feb. 7 to Feb. 13 while listing date was set on Feb. 23.
GFNI, through PGMC, is the third largest nickel ore producer in the Philippines by volume of nickel shipped and the largest nickel ore producer in the Philippines by value of shipment.
It is also one of the largest single-mine lateritic exporters in the world and one of the largest global suppliers of nickel ore, accounting for 12.6 percent of the country’s nickel ore production.
The company is currently exploring opportunities in mineral processing.
GFNI signed an agreement in November 2017 with Vi Holding Llc, a member of an international investment and industrial group of companies in Russia with interests in mineral exploration and processing, real estate, energy and in innovative solutions, for the implementation of joint business projects in the processing of lateritic ores.
“We hope to take advantage of Vi Holding Llc’s patented technology of processing nickel-bearing ore that requires significantly lower capital investment coupled with lower production costs. This technology makes it possible to quickly and efficiently build mining and metallurgical complexes comprising independent coal-fired power supply facilities,” GFNI said.
The mining firm also plans to develop its existing relationship with China and explore opportunities in other countries.
GFNI reported a net income of P779.7 million in 2017, up 1,980 percent from just P37.5 million in 2016 on improved selling prices, operational efficiency and favorable foreign exchange impact.
Revenues jumped 54 percent to P5.8 billion from P3.8 billion as nickel ore shipments increased 39 percent to 5.971 million wet metric tonnes and average realized price increased 5 percent to $19.29 per WMT.
