Petron shelf registration gets nod

THE Securities and exchange Commission (SEC) has approved Petron Corp.’s shelf registration of up to 50 million preferred shares.

In its en banc meeting on June 1, the SEC approved the registration statement of Petron covering Series 4 preferred shares.

Petron may offer the preferred shares in one or more tranches within a period of 3 years. For the first tranche, the listed company will offer 12.5 million preferred shares at an issue price of P1,000 each, with an oversubscription option of 10 million preferred shares.

The company expects to net P22.34 billion from the offer, assuming the oversubscription option is fully exercised.

Proceeds will be used for the partial redemption of certain securities, debt refinancing and purchase of crude oil, the company said.

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 slated for July 7, based on the latest timetable submitted to the SEC.

Petron has picked China Bank Capital Corp. as the sole issue manager for the offer as well as a joint lead underwriter and bookrunner, alongside Bank of Commerce, Philippine Commercial Capital Inc., PNB Capital and Investment Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp.

Petron’s net income for the first quarter declined by more than 5 percent to P3.39 billion from the previous year’s P3.59 billion.

Consolidated revenues reached P188.8 billion for the quarter, 10 percent higher than the reported P172.3 billion last year.

The company captured the growth in fuel demand and sold consolidated volumes of 28.6 million barrels in the first three months, up 1 percent from the previous year’s 25.7 million barrels.

“It’s still a promising start to the new year,” Petron President and CEO Ramon S. Ang said. “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.”