CEBU CITY—Top Line Business Development Corp. aims to have 50 service stations operated by its retail fuel subsidiary, Light Fuels Corporation, by the end of 2025.
This goal exceeds the company’s initial public offering (IPO) prospectus target of building 30 stations by 2026.
The company attributed this to the success of its flexible, disciplined expansion strategy, which combines construction with targeted acquisitions to accelerate market reach.
“We are positioning ourselves for even greater impact,” Top Line chairman, president and chief executive Eugene Erik Lim said at the company’s first stockholders’ meeting in Cebu City.
“Our strategic priorities include expanding storage and import capacity to strengthen supply reliability, expanding our retail footprint to make our systems more efficient with economies of scale, and upgrading digital platforms to improve operational visibility and customer experience,” he said.
Top Line’s retail network expansion is designed to deliver incremental revenues and improve the company’s operating margins over the medium to long term.
This growth strategy supports strong sales momentum, with liquid fuel sales reaching 44.43 million liters in the first half of 2025, up 38.3 percent from 32.12 million liters in the same period last year.
Light Fuels operates four stations, with eight more under various stages of development across Metro Cebu and Cebu Province.
Its recent acquisition of 38 stations from Total Oil & Gas Resources Inc. (TOGRI) and Ballston Metro Corp. (BMC) expands its operational network to 50 stations by year-end, broadening its presence in the high-growth regions of Cebu, Leyte, Siquijor, and Negros Oriental.
The company spent P180 million for the acquisition, sourced through bank financing and internally generated funds. The acquisition also includes a 2-million-liter depot in San Jose, Negros Oriental and an additional 15 tanker trucks, enhancing the company’s logistics capacity.
“We seize opportunities for expansion with prudence and purpose,” Lim said.
“This acquisition is a strategic move that demonstrates our disciplined and effective use of capital. Each station we acquire has been carefully evaluated for its operational potential and its ability to strengthen our network, ensuring it contributes to our bottom line while delivering sustainable value for our shareholders,” he said.
Following its successful IPO on April 8, which raised P732.6 million with net proceeds of P624.6 million, Top Line has optimized its capital deployment to accelerate expansion.
Around P300 million was initially earmarked for constructing 20 new stations and P180 million for a fuel tanker.
With its recent acquisition aimed at faster retail market entry, the company reallocated P400 million towards Light Fuels’ retail network expansion, which includes the construction and renovation of the newly acquired assets.
Working capital was also increased to P214.6 million from the initial P134.6 million to purchase fuel stock, ensuring sufficient supply for the expanding retail network. The P10 million allocated for general corporate purposes remains unchanged.
The company allocated P400 million from its IPO proceeds as part of its broader P925 million retail network expansion plan covering the acquisition, construction and renovation of stations.
The remaining P525 million will be funded through a mix of bank financing and internally generated funds, including the P180 million recently disbursed for the asset purchase agreement with TOGRI and BMC.
As of June 30, 2025, the company has disbursed P422,060,086, or 67.6 percent of its IPO net proceeds.
“We are deploying capital with discipline and agility, enabling us to seize opportunities that accelerate our roadmap while maintaining prudent financial management,” Lim said. “This is how we translate investor trust into real, measurable progress on the ground.”
