The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday approved the shelf-registration by Petron Corp. of up to 50 million preferred shares to be offered within three years at P1,000 apiece.
The SEC en banc resolved to render effective the registration statement of Petron covering Series 4 preferred shares in its meeting on June 1, subject to compliance with certain remaining requirements.
It said Petron may offer the preferred shares in one or more tranches within the three-year period.
Petron will offer 12.5 million preferred shares at P1,000 each, with an oversubscription option for another 10 million preferred shares.
The company expects to net P22.34 billion from the offer, assuming the oversubscription option is fully exercised.
The SEC said Petron would use proceeds from the issuance for the partial redemption of certain securities, debt refinancing, and purchase of crude oil.
The preferred shares will be listed and traded on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange.
The first tranche is scheduled for public offering from June 14 to 27, with listing on the PSE is slated on July 7, based on the latest timetable submitted to the SEC.
Petron engaged China Bank Capital Corp. as the sole issue manager for the offer as well as a joint lead underwriter and book runner, alongside Bank of Commerce, Philippine Commercial Capital Inc., PNB Capital and Investment Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp.
Petron posted a net income of P3.4 billion in the first quarter, slightly lower than P3.6 billion in the same period in 2022 on increased financing cost, which was partly tempered by the mark-to-market valuation of its commodity hedges.
“It’s still a promising start to the new year,” said Petron president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang in a statement.
“The consistent rise in fuel demand and better industry conditions, combined with our efficiency and volume-generating measures contributed to our results in the first quarter. Despite external challenges, we remain confident in our ability to navigate the highs and lows of this industry as we work on achieving a full financial recovery this year,” said Ang.
Consolidated revenues reached P188.8 billion in the quarter, or 10 percent higher than the reported P172.3 billion in the same period last year.
Consolidated volumes sold in the three-month period reached 28.6 million barrels, up 11 percent from 25.7 million barrels in 2022.