ORCA Cold Chain Solutions Inc., a cold storage company led by businessman Michael Cosiquien that plans to go public this year, said over the weekend it will build five new facilities to double its capacity by 2027.
The company said it would establish the plants in Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Tarlac, Pangasinan and Davao as part of the plan to increase capacity to 69,292 pallets (69.2 million kilograms) from 34,342 pallets (34.3 million kg).
“This expansion should allow ORCA to broaden its logistics footprint, capture more market share and increase both topline and profitability,” ORCA said.
The company has two operating plants in Taguig and Caloocan.
ORCA said the planned facility in Cagayan de Oro would have a capacity of over 8,450 pallets and would be operational by 2023. The Cebu facility with 10,000 pallets will commence operations in 2024.
The company plans to partially fund the construction of the two new facilities using proceeds from the planned P1.5-billion initial public offering.
It said the Tarlac, Pangasinan and Davao facilities would have a capacity of 5,500 pallets each and would start operations by 2025, 2026 and 2027, respectively.
The domestic cold chain industry has a total capacity of 550,000 pallet positions, or equivalent to a holding capacity of about 500,000 tons of various food products, based on data from the Cold Chain Association of the Philippines.
This is projected to grow at an annual rate of 8 percent to 10 percent from 2022 to 2026 on population growth, shifting consumer preferences and economic recovery.
ORCA plans to sell 1.7 billion shares, or equivalent to 23 percent of the company, at a maximum price of P0.88.
ISOC Holdings Inc. of Cosiquien owns a 60-percent stake in ORCA, while Philware Magnate Inc. has the remaining 40 percent.
ISOC Holdings is a diversified conglomerate with interests in logistics, power, property and infrastructure.
Investment & Capital Corporation of the Philippines is the sole issue manager for the transaction.