COCONUT products manufacturer Axelum Resources Corp. is extending its P500-million share buyback program until the end of the year.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, the company said its board of directors has approved moving the deadline of the program to Dec. 31, extending it over three months from its original Sept. 16 deadline.
The company started buying its common shares from the open market on March 16. It has so far bought back P135.82-million worth of shares from the P500-million allocation.
When the program was launched six months ago, Axelum said its goal in repurchasing shares was to enhance shareholder value.
The company did its maiden listing at the exchange in October last year. It offered the shares at P5 apiece, but they now trade within the P2.23-P2.60 range. Shares in Axelum closed at P2.54 apiece on Wednesday, unchanged from its close in the previous day.
The company has not identified the exact number of shares it will be buying from the extended program, as this will be determined by the total buyback price of the shares.
Axelum currently has an authorized capital stock of 5 billion shares. It has 3.95 billion issued and outstanding common shares, and 54.36 million treasury shares.
“The company cannot accurately determine at this point its capital structure after the buy-back program,” it said.
Axelum will be buying back its shares in the open market using the trading facilities of the Philippine Stock Exchange. It will use cash and book the shares as treasury shares.
The company recorded an attributable net income of P202.94 million in the first semester, down 47% from a year ago, due to obstruction in its access to coconut supply when the government imposed coronavirus-related restrictions. — Denise A. Valdez
