Share price of Axelum Resources Corp. dipped 6.2 percent Monday during its maiden listing despite expansion and acquisition plans.
Axelum opened higher at P5.29 from an initial public offering price of P5 before closing at P4.69.
The company, however, remains bullish on prospects despite the disappointing market debut.
“We are pleased with the result of the IPO and the subscription we received from a number of funds, both domestic and overseas as well as individual investors. It’s very encouraging to see that investors remain optimistic and gave their vote of confidence in Axelum,” said Axelum chairman Romeo Chan.
Despite global concerns that continue to weigh down on the local equities market, Axelum’s IPO attracted a broad spectrum of investors from retail to pension and retirement funds, insurance companies, trust funds, banks and a number of private corporations, as well as foreign funds.
“We have already put up the necessary infrastructure to grow our business and with this IPO, we are confident that we are in a better position to pursue our expansion plans and capture the increasing demand for high-value coconut products,” Chan added.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital, said Axelum fell in its first trading day as investors opted to stay liquid in the meantime.
“Though the prospects remain sound for the company, investors have been selling the market in general and the company may have been the result of collateral damage,” Limlingan said.
Meanwhile, Axelum president and chief operating officer Henry Raperoga said the company recently closed a new order for organic coconut milk powder to be used as ingredient in a skin care product or supplement.
The initial order, which is for export, amounts to 170 metric tons, or equivalent to $1 million to $1.5 million in sales.
“This contract is for another new application from the versatile coconut. This line is among the high-margin products that we are pursuing. We can actually command a premium price for this product,” Raperoga said.
The company is also finalizing plans to build a P200-million coconut water concentrate plant within its its facility in Misamis Oriental. This will enable the company to turn the coconut water it is not processing right now into revenues.
Axelum plans to acquire or organize its own distribution channels in the United States and Europe to expand the market.
Axelum is one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of coconut water and one of the major suppliers of Vita Coco, the global leader in coconut water.
It is also a major exporter of desiccated coconut, coconut milk powder, coconut milk/cream, reduced-fat coconut, sweetened/toasted/roasted desiccated coconut, coconut cooking oil and other coconut products.