Philex defers stock rights
Philex Mining Corp. has pushed back the timetable of its P3.15-billion fund-raising activity amid the volatility in the financial markets.
In a disclosure, the listed mining firm and BDO Capital & Investment Corp. have agreed to further adjust the timetable of the proposed stock rights offer “to a later date given the current market volatility to help ensure its success.”
Philex said it has notified both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) of the change in the timetable accordingly.
“Once the revised offer timetable is finalized in coordination with the SEC and the PSE, the company will make the necessary disclosures,” it added.
In January, the SEC approved Philex Mining’s application for an SRO covering up to 842 million common shares, subject to certain remaining requirements.
Under the SRO, Philex Mining will offer the shares to eligible shareholders for a maximum offer price of P4.81 per share.
Based on an earlier timetable submitted by the company, the SRO was intended to run from Feb. 28 to March 10, in time for the listing of the offer shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange on March 21.
Net proceeds from the offer could amount to P3.059 billion.
Philex chief finance officer and treasurer Romeo Bachoco earlier said part of the $224-million funding needed for the starter mine of the Silangan Copper-Gold project in Surigao del Norte would come from the SRO.
“The SRO will contribute approximately P3.1 billion or $61 million. Philex, out of its cash surplus from its current operations will infuse between $50 million to $60 million – so P2.5 billion to P3 billion will be infused by Philex into the Silangan project,” Bachoco said.
“Any balance that will be left from that SRO and cash infusion through Philex, will be raised through debts,” Bachoco added.
Philex Mining is set to begin the development of the first phase of the Silangan project this year, which will produce around 2,000 tons of ore per day.
This will be ramped up to 12,000 tons a day or four million tons a year by the 12th year of operations.
The mine is targeted to commence commercial operations in the first quarter of 2025.
“Silangan will be an exciting project for us in 2022 – it could ensure that our business continues for a long time to come. We look forward this year with a fair degree optimism, given the buoyant prices of commodities in general, and of metal prices in particular, driven by global geopolitical and supply factors,” Philex chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan earlier said.
“We will continue our relentless drive to improve our operations, and are now looking at new investment opportunities. The job security and welfare of our employees and their dependents are still our primordial concern,” Pangilinan added.
Philex reported a 118 percent surge in its core net income last year to P2.53 billion, driven by higher metal prices.
“Favorable and sustained higher levels of realized prices for gold and copper resulted in higher operating revenues in 2021, registering a healthy 25 percent increase over the year 2020,” Philex said.