ABOITIZ POWER Corp. (AboitizPower) on Wednesday said that its buy-back program aims to create further shareholder value.
“The buy-back program was initiated as an opportunity to repurchase shares as AboitizPower believes that the current share price range does not reflect the intrinsic value of the Company and its future business prospects,” the company said in a media release.
“This action is an expression of confidence by the Company in the fundamentals of the country, the energy industry and its business,” it added.
In a stock exchange disclosure, AboitizPower said it had purchased about 11.41 million of its own shares as part of its buy-back program amounting to P353.84 million.
AboitizPower said that it is “aware that the purchases may reduce the public ownership level of AboitizPower below the minimum required to remain a component of the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi).”
“Despite its potential removal from the PSEi, the Company continues to believe its fundamentals remain intact and that this program will create further shareholder value,” the company said.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) announced changes to its indices effective on Sept. 26.
The PSE took out AboitizPower and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. from the main index and entered Bloomberry Resorts and Hotel, Inc. and Century Pacific Food, Inc.
“Even if our market float is at 19.9%, [AboitizPower] remains a constituent of the PSEi,” an official of the company said, adding that the next review of its members will be done after December 2023. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera