Cirtek lists common shares sold via SRO

Published by Business Mirror

Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. on Monday listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) 249.44 million in common shares that carry a detachable warrant, which the company sold via a stock rights offering (SRO).

The said shares were sold at P5.50 per share, or a total of P1.37 billion.

Cirtek shares were last traded at P4.60 apiece.

In his welcome message, PSE president and CEO Ramon S. Monzon cited the competitive environment of the technology solutions space given the rapid advancement in this field and expressed optimism over Cirtek’s plans for its subsidiaries.

“I understand that Cirtek is eyeing new markets that would expand the product portfolio of its subsidiaries. With these activities, Cirtek’s units are well-positioned to benefit from the upbeat prospects in the semiconductor and the antenna spaces.”

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

Under Cirtek’s rights offer, the shares were offered at a ratio of one entitlement right for every 1.68 common shares held by shareholders of record as of July 7.

Each share carries free detachable warrants. The exercise price for the bonus detachable warrant is P5.50.

Abacus Capital and Investment Corp. and PNB Capital Corp. acted as joint issue managers and lead underwriters.

The application for the increase in authorized capital stock of the company, where the new shares came from, and amended Articles of Incorporation has been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 10.

In May Cirtek also raised some P1 billion from commercial papers. The company said the offering was oversubscribed by four times.

Cirtek said its fund raising was oversubscribed since it did the offering at a time of monetary easing and consecutive rate cuts by central banks.

The said paper was listed for trading on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.

The said fund raising is part of the company’s P6-billion debt program.

Quintel USA designs, develops and delivers high-performance antenna products and solutions for big telecommunications companies in North America. Cirtek Electronics, meanwhile, is primarily engaged in the business as an independent subcontractor for semiconductor assembly, test and packaging services. The company has regular customers spread out in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Cirtek’s net income in the first semester grew 60 percent to $7.98 million (about P399 million) from last year’s $4.98 million (P249 million).

In April to June, its income rose 69 percent to $4.36 million (P218 million) from last year’s $2.57 million (P128 million).