Pryce Corp gets nod to raise capital stock

MANILA, Philippines — Listed Pryce Corp. was cleared to infuse fresh capital after its board approved a P98-million increase in its authorized capital stock.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Pryce said it secured the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise its authorized capital stock from P2 billion to P2.098 billion.

The infusion of fresh capital into the company is to accommodate a new investor, it said.

This is “to allow for the subscription by Josefina Multi-Ventures Corp. to 24,500,000 shares at the subscription price of P5.00 per share under the placing and subscription transaction disclosed to the Exchange last Dec. 7, 2016, and otherwise, to allow the company to expeditiously raise funds via stock subscriptions.”

Last year, Pryce announced it is selling 24.5 million common shares to a third party institutional buyer through an investment banker to fund its working capital requirements as well as boost the company’s stock value in the market.

Part of the sale, which amounts to P122.5 million, will be taken from the authorized capital stock increase.

Pryce announced its plans to strengthen its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) brand, PryceGas, with a P1-billion investment in 20 refilling plants.

The expansion, which will be undertaken by its subsidiary Pryce Gases Inc. (PGI) and its unit Oro Oxygen Corp. is aimed at widening its LPG’s brand reach in Luzon.

This year, the firm said it is expanding the capacity of its LPG terminals to solidify its position as one of the country’s major distributors of cooking gas in Visayas and Mindanao.

PGI is boosting its storage capacity in three locations namely in Sta. Cruz,  Davao del Sur, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, and Sogod, Cebu.

The Davao del Sur terminal recently added 1,200 metric tons (MT) on top of its existing 2,200 MT capacity.

Another 2,000 MT will be built in the 1,100-MT terminal in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental and an additional 1,200 MT will be added to the existing 2,590-MT terminal in Sogod, Cebu. Both expansion works will be completed in May 2018.

Last January, PGI completed the 2,100-MT storage tank in its import-marine terminal in Albuera, which effectively increases the terminal’s total storage capacity to 3,100 MT.

Pryce expects to meet its P1.26-billion income target for 2017 on the back of a seasonally stronger LPG sales in the second half of the year.