ICTSI raises nearly P5B from sale of treasury shares

LISTED port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) announced on Monday that it had successfully raised P4.7 billion from the sale of its 40 million treasury shares.

In an e-mailed statement, ICTSI said the offering was “oversubscribed” by “high-quality” foreign and local investors.

The company sold 40 million treasury shares at P117 per share representing a 3.9% discount to the closing share price on Nov. 25, ICTSI said.

The offering was the company’s first equity follow-on offering since 2013, according to ICTSI, adding that proceeds would be used to fund “general corporate purposes, including committed capital expenditures and acquisitions.”

Rafael D. Consing Jr., ICTSI senior vice-president and chief financial officer, said: “With $800 million raised in senior debt, hybrid equity, and common shares from both existing and new stakeholders, ICTSI enters 2021 focused on a five-year horizon through the same lens of achieving growth organically and through value-accretive acquisitions.”

ICTSI’s offering comes after the company reduced its capital expenditure plan for 2020 to around $160 million due to the pandemic crisis.

The company reported recently that it had spent $128.6 million as of September this year, mainly for its expansion projects at Manila International Container Terminal in Manila; Contecon Manzanillo S.A. in Manzanillo, Mexico; Contecon Guayaquil S.A. in Guayaquil, Ecuador; Basra Gateway Terminal in Umm Qsar, Iraq; and ICTSI DR Congo in Matadi, Democratic Republic of Congo.

ICTSI saw its third-quarter net income attributable to equity holders grow by 23% to $69.2 million, after it benefitted from cost preservation measures to mitigate the effects of the global health crisis.

ICTSI shares closed 1.21% higher at P125 apiece on Monday. — Arjay L. Balinbin