Stock News 2013: Petron plans to raise more funds

Petron Corporation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Petron Corp., the country’s largest oil refiner and distributor, is set to issue dollar-denominated securities to raise additional funds, on top of the $500 million it raised in February this year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Petron said it “expects to offer additional securities which, upon issuance, will be fungible and consolidated with the securities issued by the company on Feb. 6, 2013, to form a single series.”

Petron was able to raise $500 million from the sale of perpetual bonds. It priced the hybrid capital notes at 7.5 percent a year after a “well-received” road show in Asia and the United Kingdom.

To serve as joint bookrunners and lead managers for the new issuance will be HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and UBS.

In a text message, Petron chairman Ramon S. Ang said the proceeds from the issuance would be used for the company’s expansion program. He, however, did not indicate the amount the oil company was planning to raise from the reopening of the dollar securities.

For this year, Petron has earmarked P51.9 billion for its consolidated capital expenditures, as it moves to further strengthen its foothold in the local and Malaysian oil markets.

Of the planned capital spending, 72 percent, or P37.37 billion, would be allocated for the implementation of the Refinery Master Plan 2 (RMP-2), which is aimed at upgrading the oil firm’s 180,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Limay, Bataan.

Another 13 percent, or P6.75 billion, will be used for the company’s cogeneration power plant project, which will generate 140 megawatts by 2014.

The $500-million facility will serve the oil refinery’s current and expected future electricity and steam requirements and is expected to reduce the company’s refining costs.

http://business.inquirer.net/110991/petron-plans-to-raise-more-funds-via-securities-issuance

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Stock News 2012: Petron net profit slumps

Petron Corporation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Petron Corp., the country’s biggest oil refiner and retailer, registered an 88-percent drop in its consolidated net income to P932 million in the first nine months of 2012 from the P7.6 billion it posted in the same period last year.

The oil company explained that it continued to experience depressed margins because of the volatility in global oil markets in the second and third quarters of 2012. The Malaysian operation contributed only P155 million in consolidated net income for the January-to-September period, Petron said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.

In the third quarter alone, Petron posted a modest net income of P500 million, a turnaround from the P2.1-billion net loss it incurred for its consolidated operations in the second quarter this year.

In terms of revenue, however, Petron managed to post a 52-percent jump to P307.3 billion. Local fuel sales and exports grew by 4 percent to 35.6 million barrels, contributing P212.4 billion to the total revenue. The consolidation of Petron Malaysia beginning the second quarter likewise added 17.6 million barrels in volumes and revenues valued at P94.9 billion.

The increases in the volume of fuel products sold was attributed to Petron’s massive retail expansion program, which marked a milestone during the third quarter this year when the company’s service station network breached the 2,000 mark.

Overall, Petron said it has fortified its leadership position with 39 percent of the total market as of end-July this year.

In the case of its Malaysian operations, the company’s priority continued to be the rebranding of Esso and Mobil service stations into the Petron brand. The company aims to rebrand 550 service stations over the next few years. The new stations feature improved facilities and personalized services.

http://business.inquirer.net

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Stock News 2011: Smc's 8-Month Income Up 70%

Image via WikipediaSan Miguel Corp. (SMC) net income rose 70 percent in the eight months through August from a year ago on acquisitions of oil-refining and power-generation assets, a person familiar with the company’s financial data said.

The Philippines’ biggest listed company also had revenue that rose by two and a half times, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization almost doubled, the person, who declined to be identified because the information is private, said. San Miguel last month reported first-half profit rose 72 percent to P10.8 billion.

The company that started as a brewer more than a century ago has been expanding into oil refining, power retailing and infrastructure to triple the return it previously earned from food and drinks. Oil refining unit Petron Corp. accounts for about a third of the Philippine oil market, while SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. controls 17.5 percent of the nation’s power generation capacity. The power unit plans to raise as much as P27.3 billion in an initial public offering.

San Miguel will pay a cash dividend of 35 centavos per common share and P1.50 for each Series 1 preferred stock held, it told the stock exchange today, after close of trading.

Profit in the first three quarters of 2010 was P12.7 billion, the company said in a November 2010 statement.

http://mb.com.ph/articles/335434/smcs-8month-income-up-70

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Stock News 2011: SMC’s new businesses to propel revenues doubling to P530 billion

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Diversifying giant conglomerate San Miguel Corporation said it is poised for higher growth with its new businesses expected to make up 70 percent of the total revenues in five years.

In a presentation to stockholders, SMC chairman and chief executive officer Eduardo M. Cojuangco Jr. said that the company’s new growth engines were performing well as planned.

For his part, SMC president Ramon S. Ang said the consolidation of Petron Corporation and the firm's power generation businesses will help propel this year's revenues to double to P530 billion.

“With our new businesses, we have more diverse income streams and more paths to grow than ever before. As these segments become larger and their contributions more manifest, we are confident that we will deliver much better value,” Cojuangco said.

He added that favorable demographics, rising disposable incomes, and healthy economic growth all point to compelling near long-term prospects for the company.

For Petron Corporation, he said growth will come from the company’s thrust to reach many areas that still have no access to fuel products. There are also significant opportunities in the production of higher margin petrochemical products, he said.

For power generation, the firm said it is planning to double its capacity over the next five to seven years to meet growing demand and help address a looming power shortage.

Cojuangco said there is also a wealth of opportunities in infrastructure, as there is great demand for better roads and public transportation.

He added that there is also a lot of upside in San Miguel’s traditional food and beverage businesses with the growing affluence of consumers. Its packaging arm, meanwhile, is turning to exports for growth, with more liberal trade regimes in place in the Asia-Pacific.

http://mb.com.ph/articles/321713/smc-s-new-businesses-propel-revenues-doubling-p530-billion

Stock News 2011: Petron to sell new shares to fund expansion

Petron Corp., the Philippines’ biggest refiner, may sell shares to raise funds as it plans a $2 billion expansion, Chairman Ramon Ang said.

“A lot of investors have approached us, wanting to buy Petron shares,” Ang, who is also vice chairman of Petron’s controlling shareholder San Miguel Corp., said in an interview in Manila Friday. The size and schedule of the fundraising are yet to be determined, he said.

Petron, which could eventually become San Miguel’s “flagship” unit, plans to spend the $2 billion in three to four years for expansion, Ang said in a Feb. 3 interview. San Miguel, the Philippines’ biggest food and drinks company, is also planning a share sale to boost investments in energy, telecommunications and transportation.

San Miguel has been buying assets to expand in industries that could help boost its return on equity almost threefold from the 7 percent it previously earned from food and drinks. The Manila-based company may “calibrate” a planned sale of 1 billion common shares for at least 200 pesos ($4.6) each depending on market conditions, and the offering will likely be in the second quarter, Ang said.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/307537/petron-

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Stock News 2010: SMC completes acquisition of 68% of Petron

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MANILA, Philippines – Diversifying giant San Miguel Corporation now controls 68 percent of oil refiner Petron Corporation after it exercised the option to acquire 60 percent of the outstanding shares of Sea Refinery Corporation.

SMC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange said the December 15, 2010 acquisition, equivalent to 24 million Petron shares is in line with the Option Agreement dated December 24, 2008.

The conglomerate plans to raise its stake in Petron to as much as 90 percent if given an opportunity by the Ashmore Group which still holds a block of the oil firm’s shares.

“We will want to buy more and maybe we can buy up to 90 percent,” said SMC president Ramon S. Ang in an earlier interview.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/293289/smc-completes-acquisition-68-petron

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Stock News 2010: PSE implements rule requiring listed firms to have 10% minimum public ownership

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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Tuesday started implementing a rule that listed companies should have a minimum public ownership of 10 percent to avoid being delisted, in an effort to improve liquidity in shares and enable the discovery of a fair price.

The move, which was approved last December following a 63 percent increase in the benchmark index in 2009, comes nearly five years after the stock market operator first scrapped a similar norm in 2005, retaining it only for initial and backdoor listings.

The weakness of the stock market in the first half of the decade forced many companies to resort to buying back shares to shore up stock prices. In the process, many companies ended up non-compliant of the minimum public ownership and faced the prospect of being delisted if the ownership limit for continuing listing wasn't dropped.

As of last November, only 71 of the 179 listed firms listed on the bourse were compliant with the minimum ownership level.

Under the PSE's amended rule, listed companies whose public ownership has fallen below 10% are given a 12-month grace period to comply with the ownership rule and are fined subsequently. If public ownership stays below the minimum level for 36 months, the firms will be delisted.

The bourse has sent out reminders to increase public stake to at least 10% of their outstanding stocks to avoid delisting.

Four companies--oil refiner Petron Corp., ship builder Keppel Philippines Marine Inc., pharmaceutical company Euro-Med Laboratories Philippines Inc. and investment holding company Manchester International Holdings Unlimited Inc.) – that had been asked to comply with the new rule have replied to the bourse's request.

In separate filings with the PSE, all four companies have pledged to take steps to meet the required public ownership.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/290274/p

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Stock News 2010: SMC hikes stake in Petron

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SAN MIGUEL Corp. has increased its stake in Petron Corp. to 37.8 percent of the oil refiner’s outstanding capital stock as part of its intention to acquire a controlling interest by year’s end.

On Aug. 31, San Miguel bought 1.52 million Petron shares from the Ashmore group at P7.20 a share or a total of P10.9 billion. Based on the latest regulatory filing by Petron, it said San Miguel now owned 3.58 billion shares.

Prior to the purchase, San Miguel acquired an initial 19.83-percent stake from Ashmore equivalent to 1.88 billion shares at P6.85 a share. But even before the acquisition of the initial block from Ashmore, San Miguel had conducted a tender offer at P6.85 a share given its intention to exercise the option to acquire 100 percent of Ashmore unit SEA Refinery Corp., which controls Petron.

Doris Dumlao

September 7, 2010

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20100907-291016/SMC-hikes-stake-in-Petron

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