Oil refiner Petron Corp. on Tuesday listed P20 billion worth of preferred shares, the company’s biggest, at the Philippine Stock Exchange.
The amount represents the base offer of P15 billion and the oversubscription option of P5 billion amid the strong response of institutional investors and trading participants.
Dividend rates per annum on the preferred shares is 6.8713 percent for Series 3A and 7.1383 percent for Series 3B.
Petron teamed up with BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp. and PNB Capital and Investment Corp. as joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners. First Metro Investment Corp. was a co-lead underwriter.
“We thank the investment community for their warm reception and strong desire to be part of our continued growth. The success of this fundraising exercise highlights our position as the leading oil player and as a viable investment option,” Petron president and chief executive Ramon Ang said in a statement.
Part of the proceeds will be used for the redemption of Petron’s outstanding Series 2A preferred shares issued in 2014 while the balance will be utilized for short-term debt repayment and general corporate purposes.
“We will continue to pursue our strategic goals and follow through with our investments despite volatility in the global market. We remain committed to fueling economic growth and to bringing greater value to our shareholders,” Ang said.
Ang earlier said he was hoping that crude prices would remain stable in the coming years. Recent volatility in oil prices in the world market and the effect of the second phase of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act brought down Petron’s profit in the first quarter.
Petron’s net income dropped to P1.2 billion in the first quarter from P5.8 billion in the same period last year.
“We can only hope that the crude oil price will be stable in the coming years…If you notice, Petron, despite all of that”•inventory losses, new taxes, huge oil price drop, etc. Our income declined but we did not lose [money],” Ang said.
He said Petron, during a normal scenario, could generate an operating income of $1 billion.
“It is still an industry which we believe that the country needs,” Ang said.
Petron is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the Philippines and is a leading player in the Malaysian market. It has a combined refining capacity of 268,000 barrels per day both in the Philippines and Malaysia and produces a full range of world-class fuels and petrochemicals.
It has more than 3,000 service stations where it retails world-class gasoline and diesel.
Petron plans to invest more than $1 billion for its refinery optimization and retail network expansion in the Philippines and Malaysia.
