SLMC Bonifacio Global city MAB Corp. announces schedule of stockholders’ meeting

August 17, 2021 | 8:00 am

SLMC Bonifacio Global City MAB Corp.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF THE STOCKHOLDERS

To: The Stockholders
From: The Corporate Secretary

Please be notified that the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting of SLMC Bonifacio Global City MAB Corp. (the “Corporation”) will be held on September 8, 2021, 12:00 noon through teleconference. The access to the meeting and the relevant Definitive Information Statement, Management Report, Annual Report (SEC Form 17-A) will be distributed prior to the meeting.

CONRADOS.DARSANTOS
Corporate Secretary

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE STOCKHOLDERS
September 8, 2021
12:00 noon
Through teleconference

AGENDA

Call to Order
Certification of Notice and Quorum
Approval of the Minutes of the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting held on September 9, 2020
President’s Report
Financial Report
Election of Directors
Approval of the Audited Financial Statements for Year Ended December 31, 2020
Amendment of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
Ratification of Acts of Management and Board of Directors
Appointment of External Auditor
Other Matters
Adjournment

Register for a spot in Alibaba Cloud’s Global Startup Accelerator Demo Day

August 17, 2021 | 7:00 am

Demo Day is a program for startups to gain a spot on Alibaba Cloud’s radar and even join the company’s Global Startup Accelerator.

During its annual summit on June 8, 2021, Alibaba Cloud announced its new Project AsiaForward initiative to bring digital transformation to enterprises in Asia and nurture fresh talent. Alibaba Cloud also shared its plans to invest USD 1 billion across six Southeast Asian markets, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, within the next three years.

As part of Project AsiaForward, Alibaba Cloud will launch the Global Startup Accelerator. A series of Demo Days will be held, presenting startups the chance to be selected for the program and become part of Alibaba Cloud’s global ecosystem.

Registration for the inaugural Demo Day is open from August 16 to August 25, 2021. Alibaba Cloud welcomes startups from any country, industry, and operating at any stage.

The Alibaba Cloud Global Startup Accelerator brings together new technologists, venture capitalists, and other ecosystem players across Asia to identify startups that are compatible with Alibaba’s ecosystem.

Startups that join Demo Day stand to win the following prizes:

USD 60,000 in Alibaba Cloud credit
1-on-1 technical support for setup and migration
Connections to top VCs in Southeast Asia and China
Opportunities to work with Fortune 500 companies in Alibaba’s ecosystem
Published profiles in English and Chinese by KrASIA and 36Kr Global

Upon successful registration, startups will also receive USD 3,000 in Alibaba Cloud credit.

Here’s what you need to provide for registration:

Your startup’s name
Main point of contact’s details: full name, mobile number, business email address
PDF of your corporate deck

The selection process begins after you’ve successfully registered. The judges include representatives of Alibaba Cloud, venture capitalists, and research experts from 36Kr Global. They will consider the company’s corporate deck when selecting startups for Demo Day. The full selection criteria is available on the program’s official website.

Visit https://alibabacloud.kr-asia.com/ to learn more and register for the Alibaba Cloud x KrASIA Global Startup Accelerator Demo Day.

Scan this QR code to join the program’s DingTalk Group and stay updated with all program-related announcements.

Remittances hit 6-month high in June

August 17, 2021 | 12:34 am

Cash remittances rose by 7% to $2.638 billion in June, the central bank said. — REUTERS

MONEY SENT HOME by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) reached a six-month high in June, as more host countries gradually reopened their economies amid the rollout of coronavirus vaccines.

Cash remittances rose by 7% to $2.638 billion in June from $2.465 billion a year ago, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

This was attributed to a 7.1% increase in money sent by land-based workers to $2.13 billion, and a 6.5% rise in remittances by sea-based workers to $502 million.

June marked the fifth consecutive month of year-on-year growth and the biggest inflows since the $2.89 billion recorded in December.

Month on month, cash remittances increased by 10.7% from $2.382 billion in May.

This brought inflows in the first half to $14.918 billion, up by 6.4% from $14.019 billion in the same period of 2020.

Filipino migrants sent more money as restrictions were gradually eased around the world, ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said.

“Flows continue to improve as the global economy reopens, and most notably the strong recovery in the US where a bulk of the flows come from,” Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said in a Viber message.

The central bank said growth in cash remittances in January to June came mostly from the United States, Malaysia and South Korea.

By source country, the US continued to have the biggest share of overall remittances followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, South Korea, Qatar and Taiwan. Together, these countries accounted for 78.4% of total cash remittances.

Meanwhile, personal remittances, which include inflows in kind, jumped by 7.3% to $2.936 billion in June from $2.737 billion a year earlier.

Personal remittances increased by 6.7% to $16.616 billion in the first half of 2021 from $15.573 billion a year earlier.

While remittances have been resilient during the pandemic, it is uncertain whether these inflows will be enough to provide support for the peso, Mr. Mapa said.

“[Amid] increased corporate demand on improving imports coupled with the financial account now showing more outflows than inflows, we expect the peso to be on the back foot for the rest of the year,” he said.

The peso on Monday closed at P50.645 a dollar, shedding 16.4 centavos from its P50.481 finish on Friday, based on data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines. The local unit has weakened by P2.622 or 5.45% this year from its P48.023 a dollar close on Dec. 29, the last trading day of 2020.

This year, the BSP expects cash remittances to grow by 4%, a turnaround from the 0.8% decline in 2020.

While remittance is likely to grow this year, analysts flagged the uncertainty from emerging coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) variants and the reimposition of lockdowns to contain the pandemic.

“Downside risks in the near to medium term include the Delta variant’s spread globally which could be a dampener not only on remittance flows but also towards consumption,” Mr. Roces said.

UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said risks from possible restrictions in other countries would not be as drastic as what was seen at the onset of the pandemic.

“I think that the Delta and Lambda variants may affect initially the inflows but it was tougher last year. The lockdowns imposed recently are also more relaxed than what we’ve seen before,” he said in a Viber message.

The Delta variant is driving a surge in infections in countries like the United States and United Kingdom, even as vaccination rates have gone up. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

BIR beats July collection target

August 17, 2021 | 12:33 am

BIR-tax-filling-720p — PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) exceeded its collection target by 3.64% in July as economic activity picked up, preliminary data showed.

BIR Deputy Commissioner for Operations Arnel SD. Guballa told BusinessWorld the agency collected P171.85 billion in July, surpassing its P165.82-billion revenue target by 3.64%.

The July tax take was also 7.03% higher than the P160.57 billion collected in July 2020, and 7.8% bigger than the P159.364 billion revenues in June.

Tax collections started picking up this year as economic activity increased and lockdowns were eased.

BIR operations generated P165.25 billion in revenues in July, exceeding its goal by 4%. This was also 8.68% higher year on year.

The increase was driven by higher collections from BIR’s regional offices, but was partially offset by the lower tax haul from Large Taxpayers Service (LTS).

Collections from LTS totaled P104.12 billion last month, falling short of the P107.64-billion target by 3.3%. It was also 0.11% lower than its year-ago collection.

Revenues generated by BIR’s regional offices stood at P61.12 billion, exceeding the P51.25-billion goal for the month and also 28% bigger year on year.

Meanwhile, revenues from non-BIR operations missed the P6.92-billion target by 4.6% at P6.61 billion in July. Compared with the same month last year, this was also 22.5% less than P8.52 billion.

The BIR is tasked to collect P2.081 trillion this year.

The Bureau of Customs, the second-largest revenue-generating body of the government, also beat its collection target in July by 8.2% after raking in P58.183 billion in duties and taxes.

This brought Customs’ tax collections in the seven months to July to P359.93 billion, which was 4.15% higher than its goal for the period. It is expected to collect P620 billion this year. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Local shipment delays could stretch into holiday season

August 17, 2021 | 12:32 am

LOCAL EXPORTER shipments continue to fall behind as global shipping companies prioritize larger economies amid a container shortage in international trade, the head of an industry group said.

Shipping companies are prioritizing the United States and China given the regular and large volumes of cargo along with the advanced fees paid in those countries, Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said in a phone interview on Saturday.

“It’s beyond us because it’s a market-driven development,” he said.

Local shipment delays could stretch into the Christmas season, Mr. Ortiz-Luis added.

“’Yung mga goods sa Christmas, maraming hindi darating diyan. ’Yung mga exports, maraming hindi ma-ship (The goods for Christmas, a lot of those will not arrive. For exports, many of those will not be shipped). Both coming in and coming out, the boats are limited,” he said.

The global shipping industry has been facing a shortage of vessel space amid the pandemic, pushing freight rates higher and delaying goods shipments.

Philexport last month said 80 out of nearly a hundred member companies that responded to a survey said they failed to ship goods because of the shortage.

Some exporters have already cut jobs because they could not ship their goods, Mr. Ortiz-Luis said.

He said semiconductor trade, which accounts for more than half of Philippine goods exports, is hardly affected because they are delivered through air cargo. Food exports are affected most by the logistics constraints, he added.

Philexport in a meeting with shipping companies last week discussed ports in the US that are facing congestion issues. The industry group is arranging for temporary arrangements for shipping, although Mr. Ortiz-Luis said this “cannot address everybody.” — Jenina P. Ibañez

Funa proposes VULs be covered only by Insurance Code

August 17, 2021 | 12:31 am

THE INSURANCE COMMISSION (IC) said variable insurance products should be considered as life insurance products alone, and not as securities covered by collective investment schemes (CIS) to prevent a rise in premiums for consumers.

The insurance and investment components of a variable unit-linked (VUL) product are recognized as “indivisible” and cannot be considered separate components, Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa said in a statement issued by the Department of Finance (DoF).

In his letter to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, who also heads the Capital Market Development Council (CMDC), Mr. Funa said VULs are sold as a single product because “the investment component of the life insurance policy, unlike other investment products, cannot be acquired by itself.”

“Being an indivisible insurance product, it is our position that the insurance and investment components of a VUL product should be regulated and supervised under a single regulatory framework, i.e. the Insurance Code,” he said.

Mr. Funa said including VUL products in the list of CIS would subject them to two regulatory frameworks: the Insurance Code and the proposed single CIS framework that lawmakers are working on.

He warned this would add more operational costs that could lead to an increase in premiums and make VULs less attractive to potential customers.

“[This] would cause a decline in insurance penetration and hamper the efforts of improving financial inclusion in the country as the public would be discouraged from availing themselves of expensive financial products,” said Mr. Funa.

VULs are life insurance policies that have insurance benefits and an investment component. CIS are arrangements like mutual funds where funds are being pooled to be invested, re-invested or traded in securities and other assets.

Mr. Funa said regulatory systems under the Insurance Code are sufficient to protect policyholders of VULs.

In case that VUL products will still be considered as a collective insurance scheme, he said the IC would continue to “administer, supervise, and regulate the VUL in accordance with the Insurance Code,” as recommended by the DoF.

House Bill 310, pending at the committee level of the House of Representatives, aims to harmonize regulatory and tax systems for all types of CIS products as the country officially joins the ASEAN CIS Framework.

Philippine Life Insurance Association, Inc. President Benedicto C. Sison said the industry supports the IC position, noting the investment component of a VUL cannot be detached from the insurance policy since expiration of the contract also terminates the investment portion.

“VULs’ investment funds are not offered to the public, apart from the VUL insurance contract. This alone already makes them fall out of the definition of CIS found in the CIS bill. VULs are sold by licensed insurance agents based on the insurability and needs of the person to be insured… It is not enough that the prospective policyholder has money to invest — he must be insurable to be eligible for a VUL,” Mr. Sison said in an e-mailed response to queries on Monday.

He said VULs also have unique features that make them distinct from CIS, such as insurable interest, guaranteed benefits, ownership and lapsation.

Further, he said agents selling VULs are also required to obtain an additional license on top of their basic license to sell traditional insurance products, which will make a third licensing requirement from the SEC “superfluous” and an additional cost burden.

“The bills create a superfluous operational burden that is detrimental to the insuring public because it results in additional costs and over-regulation. Why fix something that is not broken?” Mr. Sison added. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Sia’s DoubleDragon, other listed firms post gains

August 17, 2021 | 12:12 am

THREE listed companies chaired by Edgar “Injap” J. Sia II posted profit and revenue gains in the first semester, according to separate regulatory filings on Monday, ahead of what he called “coming positive cycle” post-pandemic.

“Our whole team will continue to be relentless in our pursuit to make all the business units and brands under MerryMart Consumer Corp. and DoubleDragon Properties Corp. well-loved household brands serving all its stakeholders and for both to become major contributors to our economy in the years to come,” Mr. Sia said in a MerryMart statement.

DoubleDragon saw its core net income for the six-month period surge by 543% year on year to P3.72 billion as consolidated revenues inched up by nearly two percent to P2.69 billion, excluding one-off fair value gains.

The listed real estate developer said its recurring revenues also grew to P1.99 billion for the first semester, up by 5.96% from P1.88 billion. This was due to the almost six percent growth in rental income to P1.71 billion from P1.61 billion in the same period last year.

“We are determined to cause DoubleDragon to soon become an active contributor in the rebuilding of our new economy, and to become a major beneficiary in the next coming positive cycle post this unprecedented global pandemic,” Mr. Sia said in a DoubleDragon statement.

Its 43 commercial centers across the country are said to maintain an 89.58% occupancy rate as most of its leasable space in CityMalls cater to essential services like supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics, and banks.

Meanwhile, the company said rooms in Hotel 101–Manila was 92.93% occupied in the first semester.

Its real estate investment trust (REIT) office portfolio, on the other hand, has maintained a 97.72% occupancy rate. The company said the office sector continues to be stable.

In a separate disclosure, listed DDMP REIT, Inc. said it generated a net income of P1.84 billion in the second quarter, up by nearly four-fold quarter on quarter from P399.65 million. Its rental and CUSA (common use service area) income inched up by 7.69% to P547.70 million from P547.7 million in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, DoubleDragon will be ending the year with 1.2 million square meters (sq.m.) of leasable space under its portfolio following the completion of CentralHub Tarlac’s Phase 3. The development added 10,646 sq.m. to its portfolio.

DoubleDragon, in tandem with Jollibee Foods Corp., will also be launching the country’s “first and largest” industrial REIT in 2022 through its leasing arm CentralHub Industrial Centers, Inc. The announcement was made in early July.

GROCER KEEPING EYES OPEN FOR M&A
Listed grocery operator MerryMart said its consolidated net income posted a 20.09% growth to P16.4 million in the first half of the year, up from its P13.67-million profit logged in the same period last year.

MerryMart’s consolidated revenues, on the other hand, went up by 12.34% to P1.84 billion from P1.64 billion.

The MerryMart group has 41 operational stores across the country. The consolidation of pharmacy chain Carlos Drugs-Lucena, Inc.’s Carlos SuperDrug 27 branches would bump up MerryMart’s network to 68 stores nationwide.

“MerryMart will continue to keep its eyes open for merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities in both the grocery and pharmacy space that would accelerate its growth and allow it to capitalize on the continued consolidation from traditional to modern retail in the Philippines,” Mr. Sia said in a MerryMart statement.

It now has a 10,764 sq.m. central distribution center in CentralHub Tarlac, which has the capacity to hold up to 12,000 pallets and serve over 100 MerryMart stores of various formats.

“This will be our template format for all our distribution centers in the pipeline as well as MerryMart Wholesale Club, which we expect will bring in a completely new stream of revenues since it is tapping into a larger market that we have yet to fully capture,” MerryMart Chief Financial Officer Hannah Yulo-Luccini said.

MerryMart has various store formats under its belt, namely: MerryMart Store, MerryMart Market, MerryMart Grocery, MerryMart Wholesale and Dark Groceries. MerryMart wants to have P120 billion in system-wide recurring consumer sales revenues by 2030.

Under “Vision 2030,” MerryMart is also aiming to have 1,200 stores across the Philippines and a 5,000-wide MBOX smart locker network. MBOX Smart Lockers are the first product under its consumer technology portfolio with a new subsidiary, MM Consumer Technologies Corp.

Shares of DoubleDragon Properties went up by 1.39% or 14 centavos on Monday to close at P10.24 each, while shares of DDMP REIT closed unchanged at P1.77 apiece.

Meanwhile, MerryMart stocks were down by 3.40% or 12 centavos to close at P3.41 each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

ABS-CBN narrows net loss to P1.4B after cutting expenses

August 17, 2021 | 12:11 am

ABS-CBN Corp. managed to trim its second-quarter attributable net loss to P1.4 billion from a loss of P3.2 billion in the same period a year earlier, as the media company continues to cut expenses.

ABS-CBN’s total revenues for the second quarter declined 10.6% to P4.2 billion from P4.7 billion previously, the company’s quarterly report shows.

But its gross profit for the quarter increased 51.9% to P425.8 million from P280.2 million in the same period in 2020 after it cut its production costs, cost of services, and cost of sales.

The company trimmed its second-quarter general and administrative expenses to P1.9 billion, compared with the P3.2-billion expenses previously.

For the first half of the year, ABS-CBN’s revenues dropped 38.3% to P8.2 billion from P13.3 billion in the same period last year.

ABS-CBN’s first-half gross profit decreased 85% to P429.7 million from P2.9 billion a year ago.

Its general and administrative expenses for the period narrowed to P3.8 billion from P6.3 billion in the previous year.

ABS-CBN posted a first-half attributable net loss of P3.4 billion, compared with a loss of P3.9 billion in the same period in 2020.

“Following the events of the franchise denial and the impact of [coronavirus pandemic], the company enforced stringent cost-cutting measures to further manage [its] financial performance,” ABS-CBN noted.

Last year, after being denied a broadcast franchise, ABS-CBN entered into an agreement with its existing lenders “to provide for the creation of a mortgage and security interest over certain assets of the company, the opening and maintenance of debt service reserve account, pre-payment of the P4 billion of its loans, and an amendment of existing loan agreements.”

It said the lenders agreed that “upon satisfaction of the necessary conditions under the Omnibus Security and Intercreditor Agreement and during the effectivity period of the standstill…, it shall not declare an event of default to the extent that it relates to the Franchise Expiration Default.”

“On May 31, 2021, all the conditions specified in the Omnibus Security and Intercreditor Agreement were satisfied and accordingly, the Standstill Effective Date Notice was executed by all parties,” it added. — Arjay L. Balinbin

DITO CME net income drops over 70% as expenses soar

August 17, 2021 | 12:10 am

DITO CME Holdings Corp.’s second-quarter attributable net income fell 70.8% to P8.1 million from P27.5 million in the same period last year, mainly due to higher expenses.

The listed holding company’s total expenses for the quarter jumped to P18.6 million from measly P555,877 in the same period in 2020, it said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday.

The company’s non-operating income for the quarter went up 11% to P32.2 million from P29.1 million in the same period last year.

For the first six months of the year, DITO CME’s net income attributable to parent equity holder decreased 70.5% to P16.3 million from P55.3 million previously.

Total expenses for the first six months ballooned to P35.8 million from P1.6 million in the previous year.

Its first-half non-operating income grew 4.6% to P61.2 million from P58.5 million in the same period last year.

“The company earned interest income from its advances from its outstanding receivable from Udenna Corp. Group and investments totaling to P54.6 million and P29.3 million in 2021 and 2020, respectively,” DITO CME said.

“On the other hand, expenses incurred had increased… mainly due to additional professional fees and salaries paid in 2021 as compared to 2020,” it added.

DITO CME shares closed 1.68% lower at P7.63 apiece on Monday. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Hyundai sales dip; demand for commercial vehicles up

August 17, 2021 | 12:09 am

HYUNDAI Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) sales in the seven months to July declined 18% from the same period last year, while commercial vehicle sales remained strong amid growing business logistics requirements.

The local distributor of the global brand sold 7,008 vehicles for the January-to-July period from 8,542 a year earlier.

On a month-on-month comparison, Hyundai’s total July sales had inched up 4.1% to 845 units from 812 in June.

“The growth in sales was brought about by Commercial Vehicles (CV), which saw a remarkable increase of 232.1% in July versus the previous month, offsetting the slight decline in Light Commercial Vehicles, which dropped by -12.1%,” the company said in a report on Monday.

Hyundai trucks, the company said, is being used by last mile logistics providers and government agencies.

As of July, commercial vehicle sales went up more than 446% to 852 units year on year.

In contrast, segments that make up a bigger share of the company’s sales declined during the same period. Light commercial vehicle sales dropped 26.7% to 3,177 units, while passenger car sales fell 26.5% to 2,979 units.

Month on month, light commercial vehicle sales dropped 12.1% to 340 units in July, while passenger car sales inched up 3.8% to 412 units.

Imported vehicle sales in the first half of 2021 went up by 55% to 30,153 units compared with the figure in the same six months last year, the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc. (AVID) said. The industry group accounts for 21 members carrying 26 global brands.

HARI last month launched its trucks and buses dealership showroom in Cebu. The 2,000-square-meter space is owned and operated by Hyundai Cebu, Inc. (HCI), one of HARI’s commercial vehicle dealerships. — Jenina P. Ibañez

PhilWeb trims losses, cites remote gaming

August 17, 2021 | 12:08 am

PHILWEB Corp. narrowed its attributable net loss to P29.87 million in the second quarter from P37.63 million a year ago, as remote gaming provided revenues when lockdown measures led to the temporary closure of its sites.

“Our Q2 (second quarter) results were due to the loss of revenues from temporary site closures brought about by the tighter quarantine measures,” PhilWeb President Edgar Brian K. Ng said in a press release on Monday.

He added that the firm’s remote gaming platform, which was launched at the end of March, gave PhilWeb and its business partners a “continuing source of gaming revenues” amid the closure of its brick-and-mortar gaming venues for most of the quarter. The new platform holds a license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

“We were pretty much in a similar situation last year, but our EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) losses are narrower due to remote gaming; we’ve managed to bridge the quarter without the need for external funding,” Mr. Ng said.

In its quarterly report filed last week, PhilWeb said revenues in the three months ending June reached P96.80 million, up by more than 110 times compared with the year-on-year level of P878,760.

PhilWeb’s earnings came from its gaming application services business and income from commissions.

PhilWeb is accredited by the government gaming regulator. its subsidiaries include BigGame, Inc.; e-Magine Gaming Corp.; and PhilWeb Asia-Pacific Corp.

The company’s shares shed 1.76% or four centavos to finish at P2.23 apiece on Monday. — Angelica Y. Yang

Cirtek lists 249M common shares, to issue warrants

August 17, 2021 | 12:07 am

CIRTEK Holdings Philippines Corp. has listed 249.44 million common shares in the local bourse, and will issue bonus detachable warrants of the same number, the company said on Monday.

In a press release, Cirtek Holdings said that the common shares sold through a stock rights offer are at an offer price of P5.50 per entitlement right each. The company set the ratio at one entitlement right for every 1.68 common shares.

Meanwhile, the company said that it is also issuing bonus detachable warrants which are free-of-charge to the investor. “[The warrants] shall be issued as part of the subscription to the entitlement rights,” it added.

A bonus detachable warrant comes at an exercise price of P5.50.

“The company intends to use the proceeds from the offer to partially retire its short-term obligations and refinance working capital of its subsidiaries, namely Quintel USA, Cirtek Electronics Corp. (CEC) and Cirtek Advanced Technologies and Solutions, Inc.,” Cirtek said.

Cirtek is a holdings company primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of semiconductor packages, the manufacture of highly integrated technology products and the delivery of antenna solutions.

Previously, Cirtek announced that it was open to list its unit Quintel USA, Inc. in the US-based stock exchange Nasdaq through an initial public offering.

The firm earlier reported a second-quarter attributable net income of $2.31 million, up by around 70% versus $1.36 million in the same period last year.

Cirtek shares went down by 2.13% or 10 centavos to finish at P4.60 apiece on Monday. — Angelica Y. Yang