Alliance Select plans equity restructuring

Homegrown international seafood firm Alliance Select Foods International Inc. is embarking on an equity restructuring program to wipe out its current deficit.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Alliance Select said the company’s par value would be halved from P1 to P0.50, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

It said the equity restructuring would not reduce the number of outstanding shares and change a stockholder’s ownership interest in the company, noting that the firm’s “intrinsic value would be preserved.”

“As we complete our turnaround strategy this 2017, we want to restart with a clean slate and position the company to declare dividends moving forward, and at the appropriate time. This is a necessary adjustment so we can further expedite our efforts and consolidate our recent gains,” Alliance Select president and CEO Raymond See said.

Alliance Select said equity restructuring is common for companies that are looking to clean up their balance sheets as they expect to become profitable, citing DFNN Inc., Philippine Realty and Holdings Corp. and Millennium Global Holdings Inc. as among local firms which have embarked on a similar program.

“The objective of these companies in restructuring is to wipe out the deficit in their retained earnings and/ or position the company to distribute dividends,” it said.

Meanwhile, Alliance Select has also firmed up a partnership with Japanese firm Kawasho Foods Corp. for the latter’s investment in a new product line facility within the company’s plant premises in General Santos City.

Alliance Select’s officials previously indicated that the company will widen its customer base and ramp up its marketing activities in Japan in an effort to increase its market share and presence in the East Asian market.

The production line facility is seen further diversifying Alliance Select’s product offerings, enabling the distribution of its quality seafood products in convenient and accessible pouches.

“This new product line is very cost effective, and can easily showcase the high quality of our seafood while also delivering more value for our customers,” See said.

Kawasho is a consumer goods company based in Tokyo with distribution channels in Japan that include department stores, supermarkets and convenience stores.

Alliance Select products are distributed in various foreign markets including Europe, US, Japan and the Middle East. It contributes significantly to the country’s tuna industry with local communities employed in its tuna processing plant in General Santos City.